Foton upbeat despite prolonged absence of Santiago sisters

MANILA, Philippines —Foton is tipped to have a tough time when it marches to the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix next year.

Foton team manager Diane Santiago said they would continue to miss the services of their sisters — Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat — in the prestigious import-laced conference that will roll around January.

Santiago said the ongoing season of the V. Premier League of Japan would be done around May so their chances of suiting up for the Tornadoes are gloomy.

Jaja is playing for Ageo Medics while Dindin is competing for Toray Arrows, two competitive teams that are expected to go the distance in Japan’s toughest, most prestigious women’s volleyball tournament.

“Their season in Japan won’t be over until May, so it looks like they won’t be with us in the Grand Prix as well,” said Santiago, whose wards finished the preliminaries of the All-Filipino Conference at fourth before bowing to fifth-seed Cignal in the quarterfinals.

“Of course, it depends on how their teams will fare. Maybe they can make it if their teams finish the season early. But still, it’s better to prepare as if they won’t be playing.”

The Tornadoes looked fine even without Jaja and Dindin.

Carmina Aganon, an oft-forgotten spiker from National University, stepped up big-time to carry the scoring cudgels while Maika Ortiz, Jen Reyes and Gyselle Sy provided the leadership for the Tornadoes, who finished the All-Filipino with six wins in 10 matches.

Aside from that, head coach Aaron Velez also did a masterful job preparing the Tornadoes, making them a force to be reckon with despite the absence of the twin towers.

Santiago believes they can pull it off.

“We can manage,” she said, adding that they are still in pursuit of imports who can fit into their system.

“When we lost Jaja and Dindin, we came into the conference with nothing but hope. Now that we won’t have them again, we will come up with a mindset that we have to play hard because nobody can help us but ourselves.”

The Tornadoes will have a break and resume their training in January.