MANILA, Philippines - The Foton Tornadoes have earned a spot in the finals after edging league-leader Philips Gold in a nail-biting 18-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 8-15, victory in the 2015 Philippine Super Liga Grand Prix semifinals,Thursday night, November 19, at the Arena in San Juan.
Foton now awaits the winner of the Petron vs. Cignal semifinal match in the best-of-3 finals.
American import Lindsay Stalzer led the way for the Tornadoes with 26 attacks and 3 blocks. Sensational rookie Jaja Santiago added 15 points while another import, Kathleen Messing, finished with 13 markers.
Both teams started gritty in the first set but Foton quickly gained charge as they buried Philips Gold in an 11-point deficit the Lady Slammers weren’t able to recover from.
They continued to sustain momentum in the next set, blasting the poor defense of the Lady Slammers. A slew of errors from the Philips Gold side also made it easier for the Tornadoes to clinch the first two sets.
However, Philips Gold woke up from slumber in the third set duel with the prolific attacking of American ace hitter Bojana Todorovic who finished with 31 points.
“There was a very big relaxing part. It’s our fault because we lost our focus,” Foton Head Coach Vilet Ponce-De Leon said.
But Foton proved they wanted the finals spot more as they bounced back stronger in the deciding set.
“They were really focused on the fifth set,” Ponce-De Leon on her team.
Whoever they face next, Coach Vilet is confident to say that they “will be ready for them.”
Bojana Todorvic carried Philips Gold with 31 points while Alexis Olgard and Myla Pablo chipped in 19 and 10 markers apiece. They now fight for the third spot with whoever wins in the Petron-Cignal matchup tonight. – Rappler.com
