Foton blasts Sta. Lucia in Superliga All-Filipino

MANILA, Philippines — Foton broke out of a three-game slump with a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18 victory over Sta. Lucia and gain some momentum heading into the quarterfinals of the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference yesterday at Batangas City Coliseum.

Mina Aganon punched in 12 attacks, four aces and one block and added 13 digs while Maika Ortiz and Carlo Sandoval chipped in 12 and 11, respectively, and hometown girl Ivy Perez tossed 21 excellent sets as the Tornadoes finished the preliminaries on a winning note and grabbed fourth seed in the knockout quarters with their 6-4 card.

The Tornadoes, who are battling personnel woes with stars Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat still in Japan and Arianne Layug and Shaya Adorador out on injuries, will face off with the No. 5 team in the Last-8, either Smart (4-6) or Cignal (4-6).

The Lady Realtors absorbed their 10th straight loss and ended up with the eighth seed for a quarters duel with unbeaten Petron.

“We’re not really expecting anything (given Foton’s situation) but our coach just told us to keep playing the right way and he’s so positive that it’s rubbing off on the team,” said skipper Ortiz, of coach Aaron Velez.