Tornadoes upbeat as title duel begins

MANILA, Philippines – Foton and Petron collide in the opener of the best-of-three title series in the Asics Philippine Superliga (PSL) presented by PLDT Home Ultera today with the Tornadoes out to re-assert their mastery over the Tri-Activ Spikers at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Foton swept Petron twice in the preliminaries, giving them the momentum and the psychological advantage in what promises to be a slambang duel between two of the best club teams in the country today.

“We’d like to maintain just a little bit of groundedness, confident but not cocky,” said Foton import Lindsay Stalzer, who is looking to steer the Tornadoes anew in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan next year.

But the Tri-Activ Spikers are raring to get back at the Tornadoes, ensuring a fierce showdown before an expected huge crowd in the 7 p.m. match.

Prior to that, F2 Logistics and RC Cola-Army tangle at 5 p.m. in an equally important match for the bronze in the tournament bankrolled by Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller and Grand Sport with TV5 as official broadcast partner and backed by Focus Athletics, KLab Cyscorpions, Foton, Petron and F2 Logistics.

Both matches will be shown live over at AksyonTV and Hyper and via streaming in Sports5.ph.

Foton, which also beat Petron in last year’s finals, dominated the preliminaries with 9-1 win-loss card but struggled past a tough RC Cola-Army side, 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-7, in the semifinals at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation in Legazpi City over the weekend.