F2 LOGISTICS remained invincible for the third straight game by outplaying Petro Gazz, 25-16, 25-23, 25-14, to keep the solo lead in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League at the Aquamarine Recreational Center in Lipa City on Monday.
Star spiker Kalei Mau torched the Angels with 18 kills and two blocks for 21 points, while Aby Maraño and Kianna Dy added nine points each to guide the Cargo Movers to a 3-0 win-loss card, putting them two games away from sweeping the weeklong tournament.
“I think we did pretty good. For me individually, I can’t say that I did a good job but it’s all my teammates who made this win,” the 26-year-old Filipino-American Mau said. “[Setter] Iris [Tolenada] and I are really working hard on our connection during training.”
“I am really proud of her. Without her, I couldn’t make those points,” added the 6-foot-2 Mau of Tolenada who dished out 22 excellent sets. “I am also proud of my teammates for playing scrappy defense.”
F2 Logistics head coach Ramil de Jesus didn’t expect the result to end in straight sets saying that Petro Gazz always fights for every possession.
“We didn’t expect that straight set win. I think they were just tired,” said de Jesus, referring to Petro Gazz’s five-set win over Chery Tiggo last Sunday. “But we respected every team here whether it’s professional or not.”
F2 Logistics’ faces Tuguegarao Perlas at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Marivic Meneses led the Angels with 11 points as Petro Gazz fell to its first defeat in three matches.
Chery Tiggo banked on its strong defense behind Justine Dorog to stave off the challenge of California Precision Sports (CPS), 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, and recover from a stinging five-set defeat to Petro Gazz the night before.
Dorog, playing out of University of the Philippines, came up with 15 receptions, 10 digs and seven kills to support Mylene Paat’s 17 points she highlighted with 16 kills that handed the Crossovers their second victory against one loss.
The Premier Volleyball League Open Conference champion Crossovers opted to sparingly use Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who booked a tournament-high 37 points on top of 35 kills and two blocks in their 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 11-15 loss to the Angels last Sunday.
Joy Docoron had seven points, while Manabat added seven points along with 10 receptions in the game that lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
The week-long tournament is supported by Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors and PNVF godfather Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.
Casiey Dongallo posted 23 points, including two blocks, and Jelai Gajero with 14 points on top of 13 digs and seven receptions for CPS.
The Tuguegarao Perlas Spikers claimed their second victory in three matches by routing winless Baguio City, 25-10, 25-5, 25-14, behind Jho Maraguinot’s 10 points on top of six service points.
Cza Carandang contributed nine points, Roma Joy Doromal added eight points, while Norielle Ipac had six points.
The games are live streamed over the PNVF official web site volleyballphilippines.com, iWantTFC for local and international audiences, Puso Pilipinas and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels and Gigaplay.