Tornadoes, Tri-Activ Spikers go for Superliga title duel

MANILA, Philippines - Foton and Petron take on two tough rivals raring to spoil the projected Tornadoes-Tri-Activ Spikers title showdown as the knockout semifinals of the Asics Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament unfolds today at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation in Legazpi City.

The Tornadoes set out against the RC Cola-Army Lady Troopers at 10 a.m. while the Tri-Activ Spikers collide with the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the 5 p.m. main match of the premier club tournament sponsored by Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller and Grand Sport with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

Cignal and Generika also try to close their bid on a high note when they figure in the classification for fifth in the 3 p.m second match of the triple-header held for the first time in Legazpi City through Mayor Noel Rosal, Councilor Beth Dimaculangan and JCI Legazpi City.

After dominating the preliminaries, the Tornadoes are heavily favored over the Lady Troopers with Serbian coach Moro Branislav pronouncing the semis as the “real battle” where they will unleash all their might and experience they gained from competing in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship recently.

Branislav said he would be sticking with his starting roster of Maika Ortiz and Dindin Manabat at the middle, imports Ariel Usher and Lindsay Stalzer at the open and Jaja Santiago at the opposite with veteran Rhea Dimaculangan setting the plays.

But they expect stiff resistance from the Lady Troopers, who are also looking to make it back to the finals after falling short in the All-Filipino Conference.

In their previous encounter in the tourney last Nov. 19, RC Cola-Army stretched the match to five sets with import Kierra Holst delivering 24 points while drawing solid games from Jovelyn Gonzaga and Honey Royse Tubino, who punched in 17 and 16 hits, respectively.

Branislav said he would come up with all the necessary adjustments to foil the Lady Troopers and gain a crack at the championship.

“We know RC Cola-Army is such a strong team with a lot of experience,” said Branislav, who is looking to steer the Tornadoes back to the Asian tourney set in Kazakhstan in April  next year.

The tournament is backed by Focus Athletics, KLab Cyscorpions, Petron, Foton and F2 Logistics.