PROLIFIC American imports Alaina Bergsma and Kristy Jaeckel treated fans to a furious duel never before seen in the Philippine volleyball.
But in the end, it was top rookie Dindin Santiago who stole the thunder as she towed Petron to a heart-stopping 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 29-27 victory over a Mane ‘N Tail side in the 2014 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix presented by Asics on Saturday at the jampacked Santo Domingo Coliseum in Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur.
Santiago, the 6-foot-3 gem of a spiker from National University, delivered the crucial blows down the stretch to lift the Blaze Spikers to their second win in the women’s division of this prestigious interclub tournament organized by Sports Core with Air 21, MyPhone, Via Mare, Mikasa, Mueller Sports Medicine, Healthway Medical, Generika Drugstore, LGR and Jinling Sports as technical partners.
With the win, Petron is now on top of the team standings with a 2-0 win-loss slate together with idle Cignal HD, which defeated RC Cola-Air Force and Foton early on.
Santiago nailed three blocks and two service aces for a total of 11 points while playing second fiddle to Bergsma, who erupted for 25 points despite being under the weather the previous night. Carmina Aganon was also impressive with 15 points while Brazilian setter Erica Adachi knocked down 53 of the HD Spikers’ 55 excellent sets. “We went to Dindin down the stretch,” said Petron Coach George Pascua, putting special emphasis on Santiago’s heroics in the crucial juncture when she shattered a 26-all deadlock with a pair of back-to-back hits, much to the delight of the capacity crowd led by Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Singson.
After an ice-cold start, Petron caught fire in the second and third sets and looked poised to capture the fourth set en route to an easy victory. But the Lady Stallions refused to give up as Jaeckel gamely answered Bergsma’s smashes with crispier, deadlier kills to turn the fourth set into a furious battle of will and desire.
Bergsma unloaded a booming spike to give Petron a slim 25-24 edge, but Jaeckel fired back while Rossan Fajardo scored on a service ace to give Mane ‘N Tail the lead, 26-25.
Then, Santiago took charge with a pair of hits before watching Jaeckel commit an attack error to help Petron seal the nail-biting victory.
“Our mental toughness was tested tonight,” Pascua added. “I told Erica to give the ball to Dindin and involve other players in scoring to keep the defense guessing. I’m glad everybody stepped up to overcome those challenges.”
Jaeckel, the comely spiker from University of Florida, also had a monster game as she knocked down 37 points to tie the league record registered by Santiago in the previous conference. She, however, couldn’t deliver down the stretch as Bergsma and Santiago asserted their dominance to thwart their uprising.
“We planned to maximize Jaeckel’s power by allowing her to score more. I just told our servers to target Kristy to throw her off her comfort zone,” Pascua said.
Lilet Mabbayad chipped in 11 points for Mane ‘N Tail, which remains winless in two starts.