Foton dethrones Petron, completes cinderella run in PSL Grand Prix

MANILA, Philippines -- Foton coach Villet Ponce-de Leon was disappointed when her team lost Game Two primarily due to poor defense. She made sure it would not happen again.

Foton came through with its best defensive game of the season and shut down Petron, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17, Saturday and clinched the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix title before a jampacked crowd at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Lindsay Stalzer unloaded a game-high 20 hits including 18 on kills while fellow import Kathleen Messing and talented rookie Jaja Santiago dropped 14 and 11 points, respectively, as the Tornadoes brought down the Blaze Spikers, 2-1, to claim the former their first ever title since joining the league a year ago.

Foton took the series opener, 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, last week but faltered in Game Two, 13-25, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, that levelled the series at one game apiece and sent it into a decider.

De Leon voiced her disappointment over her team's porous defense.

She wasn't now.

"I know for us to have a chance in Game Three, we would need to put premium on defense. I'm happy we did," said de Leon, who fittingly became the league's first woman coach to ever win a championship.

Fil-Am Kayla Tiangco-Williams and Angeli Pauline Araneta played pivotal roles and chipped in six hits apiece.

Ironically, setter Ivy Perez, who was utterly outplayed the whole series by Brazilian Erika Adachi, came through with clutch plays when her team needed it most with key plays in the decisive set.

It included a deceiving overset that sealed the crown and sent the Tornadoes and their throngs of supporters into frantic celebration on and off the court.

When the smoke of battle dissipated, the league has just crowned Foton its new champion.

It wasn't expected though.

For a team that finished dead last in this same conference last year and barely made it to the semis as the No. 4 seed, the Tornadoes were not the group that looked to challenge a heavily favored Blaze Spikers, the defending champions and this year's All-Filipino title holders, much more win it all.

But Foton defied the odds, stunning top seed Philips Gold and then eventually slaying the once mighty Petron side.

"I guess fairy tales happen in real life sometimes," said de Leon.

The power-hitting Stalzer made it a double celebration after she emerged the league MVP.

But nothing tastes better than winning a championship.

"It's always feels sweet winning a championship, individual awards come far behind," said the pretty Stalzer.

While the Tornadoes were jubilant, the Blaze Spikers went home heartbroken knowing they came one win away from accomplishing a three-peat.

Petron coach George Pascua, however, can console himself with the thought that he was named the Coach of the Year after he steered his team to the All-Filipino title early in the year and the finals this conference.

"That's volleyball. You win some, you lose some," he said.