MANILA, Philippines – The Petron Blaze Spikers avoided a colossal upset behind the efforts of Lindsay Stalzer and Hillary Hurley as they eked out a 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 15-11 win over the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers to advance in the semifinals of the 2017 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the Arena in San Juan Tuesday, December 5.

Stalzer scorched hot with 27 points, built on 24 kills and 3 blocks, while Hurley poured in 9 of his 21 markers in the fifth set to help Petron spoil Darlene Ramdin’s 35-point night.

Generika-Ayala, which ended the elimination round at seventh place, was so close to pulling off the improbable as it led 7-5 in the final set thanks to two consecutive off-the-block hits by Ramdin.

However, the Blaze Spikers answered with a 7-2 run, 4 points coming from Hurley, for a 12-9 lead.

The Lifesavers scored back-to-back points to close the gap, 11-12, but a Hurley attack and two points from Stalzer, which came through a block against Katarina Pilepic and a kill, secured the semifinals spot for Petron.

“Para kaming dumaan sa butas ng karayom. Sobra. Honestly speaking, hindi talaga ‘yun ‘yung laro namin. Nagpractice kami more on service tsaka receive pero grabe, hindi lumabas. Lesson learned para sa amin na at least makakapag-isip kami especially semifinals this coming Saturday,” said Petron head coach Shaq delos Santos.

(It is like we went through a needle hole. Honestly speaking, this is really not our game. We practiced more on our service and receive, unfortunately, it was not evident this game. Lesson learned for us, at least, we can prepare better for the semifinals this coming Saturday.)

Down by a set, the Blaze Spikers gained footing in the fourth set, leading 13-9 following a Stalzer hit and a Rhea Dimaculangan ace.

Generika-Ayala kept it close at 14-18 before the Blaze Spikers pulled away by scoring 5 straight points, 23-14, to forge a decider.

Mika Reyes added 13 points for Blaze Spikers while Ces Molina and Ria Meneses had 9 and 8 markers apiece.

Aside from Ramdin, Pilepic was the only other player to reach double figures for Generika-Ayala, which ended its campaign with 3 wins in 9 games, with 22 markers.

The Blaze Spikers will face the winner of the game between the Foton Tornadoes and the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors in the semifinals on Saturday, December 9, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com