Capital1 whips up storm, stuns Petro

MANILA, Philippines —  Except probably for Capital1 Solar owners Milka and Mandy Romero and battle-scarred coach Roger Gorayeb himself, not too many believed that the Solar Spikers would make a dent in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

On a stormy but memorable Tuesday night at the PhilSports Arena, Gorayeb and the gutsy Solar Spikers made the unbelievers believe after they pulled off their biggest victory in the league thus far.

It came in a mammoth 26-24, 25-20, 25-18 shocker over Petro Gazz, the defending champion and two-time Reinforced Conference titlist.

“Who would have thought na mai-i-straight sets namin. They’re always looking at us as a low-level team, tapos maka-straight sets kami to a more experienced team,” said an emotional Gorayeb.

“Malaking bagay samin ‘yon, morale-booster sa mga bata ‘yon,” he added.

Meanwhile, the league suspended today’s schedule due to the stormy weather.

Gorayeb pointed to their rock-solid defense and a lethal weapon straight from Russia – Marina Tushova – as the keys to the massive victory.

“Anlakas ng depensa namin, maski ako nagulat eh. Last time, we were struggling sa counter-attack namin. Ngayon hindi kami nag-struggle kaya masaya ako,” said Gorayeb, whose team succumbed to Akari, 25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 25-14, in their first outing Thursday.

“Si Marina (Tushova) sinapian, birthday yata nito. Ang ganda nilaro niya,” he added referring to her long-limbed, crisp-hitting import’s masterful 24-point performance.