Blaze Spikers wary of Tornadoes strength

MANILA, Philippines —  Petron expects a tough outing following a straight-set romp the first time out as it faces a souped-up Foton side in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Blaze Spikers kicked off their campaign following their PSL Grand Prix romp last month with a 25-21, 25-16, 25-10 victory over expansion team the Marinerang Pilipina Lady Skippers but the fancied team remains wary of its chances against Foton in their 7 p.m. clash.

Foton actually had a shaky start with a win against two losses but Petron coach Shaq delos Santos believes that the Tornadoes stay as one of the tough contenders with a powerhouse roster.

“They are still contenders, a powerhouse team that has tall players. We cannot let our guard down,” said Delos Santos, who also steered the Blaze Spikers to the All-Filipino crown the past couple of years.

Delos Santos hopes to draw another solid outing from veteran Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, who scored 12 kills and three blocks for a 15-point effort, along with Mika Reyes and Bernadeth Pons, who added 10 and nine markers, respectively.

“That was just the start,” said Delos Santos, who also gained significant numbers from reigning UAAP MVP Sisi Rondina and playmaker Rhea Dimaculangan.

“We still need to step up because we’re going to face the contenders starting with Foton,” he added.

Meanwhile, Marinerang Pilipina faces a red-hot PLDT Home Fibr side in the 2 p.m. opener while struggling Sta. Lucia battles Cignal in the 4 p.m. encounter that has ESPN5 and Kapatid TV5 as broadcast partners.

Despite beefing up its roster with talents like Marian Buitre, Justine Dorog and Laizah Bendong to help the solid core of Jaja Santiago, Dindin Manabat, Elaine Kasilag and Jen Reyes, Foton split their first two games against Sta. Lucia and Generika-Ayala then dropped a 9-25, 25-23, 22-25, 16-25 setback to F2 Logistics last Saturday at the Imus Sports Center in Imus City, Cavite.

In that match, open spiker Shaya Adorador carried the cudgels, but the Tornadoes failed to draw impressive numbers from other scorers like Santiago, Mina Aganon, Manabat and Kasilag.