MANILA, Philippines – Petron sent Foton crashing back to Earth as the Blaze Spikers ended the Tornadoes’ 4-game winning streak with a 25-21, 25-22, 12-25, 25-20 win in the 2017 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the Arena in San Juan Tuesday, November 14.

After a miserable 3rd set, the Blaze Spikers quickly regained their composure as they raced to a 20-11 lead in the 4th set thanks to 7-1 run capped by back-to-back aces from Rhea Dimaculangan.

The Tornadoes tried to mount a comeback behind a 7-2 run, 18-22, but Petron’s lead was too large to overcome.

With the win, Petron now leads the standings with a 5-1 card while Foton suffered its first loss in 5 outings.

“Sobrang thankful kami and sobrang happy kasi yung mga plano namin, nagbunga ng maganda. Sobra naming inaral ito, honestly speaking,” said Petron coach Shaq delos Santos. 

(We are very thankful and happy because all of our plans worked great for us. We really assessed this matchup, honestly speaking.)

American imports Lindsay Stalzer and Hillary Hurley did most of the heavy lifting for Petron as they scorched for 23 and 20 points, respectively. Stalzer fired 20 attack points while Hurley had 15 kills and 4 aces.

Despite losing the first two sets, Foton prevented a potential sweep behind the efforts of Sara Klisura as the Tornadoes zoomed into an 18-6 lead in the 3rd set. 

Petron scored 4 straight points, 10-18, but Klisura ignited a 7-2 Foton run to force a fourth set.

Klisura dropped a game-high 29-points, built on 24 hits, 3 blocks and 2 aces, while Jaja Santiago added 11 for the Tornadoes. – Rappler.com