New-look Smart, Sta. Lucia open Superliga bid

Games today

4:15 p.m. – Cocolife vs Cherrylume-UE

7 p.m. – Smart-Army vs Sta. Lucia Realty

MANILA, Philippines — Smart-Army and Sta. Lucia Realty kick off their Pool B campaign with souped-up rosters, each side confident of a strong start in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference today at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Gametime is at 7 p.m. with the Giga Hitters and Lady Realtors eager to showcase each other’s strength for the early momentum in the tournament sponsored by UCPB Gen, SOGO Hotel and Isuzu with ESPN5, Aksyon TV and Hyper HD as official broadcast partners.

Cocolife and returning Cherrylume-UE, on the other hand, test each other’s mettle in the first game at 4:15 p.m.

Meanwhile, F2 Logistics swept Foton, 25-21, 25-21, 25-14, in an early duel of the fancied teams in the tournament backed by Senoh, Asics, Mikasa, Mueller and Grand Sport as technical sponsors.

Kianna Dy finished with 10 points to spoil the highly anticipated debut of Bea de Leon for the Tornadoes.

De Leon, the former Ateneo star blocker, finished with eight points but showed a lot of promise on both ends.

But Smart and Sta. Lucia take center stage today with the Giga Hitters parading the core of Army and UST to form an explosive squad boasting of experience and winning tradition.

Lady Troopers Mary Jean Balse-Pabayo, Luth Malaluan, Nerissa Bautista, Genie Sabas and Joanne Bunag have been tapped to join Tigresses Caitlin Viray, Dimdim Pacres, Mildred Dizon and Tin Francisco in the Giga Hitters camp.

“We’re an old team that looks like new,” said Smart head coach Kungfu Reyes, who led the Lady Troopers to a dramatic victory over the Thailand juniors national team in the finals of the PSL Invitationals in 2016.