The towering lineup of the Foton Tornadoes paid off, overwhelming the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 28-26, to end the first round of the 2018 Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Coming out firing, the Tornadoes made quick work of the Lady Realtors in the first set, before succumbing to a late collapse in the second frame.
Dominant again in the third set, the Tornadoes needed clutch scoring from import Brooke Kranda and Dindin Santiago-Manabat to break free of the Lady Realtors in a heated deuce to clinch the match.
“Siguro gumaganda na ‘yung gelling namin as a team talaga. Maraming bagong locals and imports so siyempre nagkakasanayan pa kami sa isa’t noong una. Ngayon, mas kumportable na kami,” said former league MVP Manabat, who had her best game of the season, scoring 21 points off 18 attacks and three blocks.
“Gumaganda na, mas nagiging kumportable na rin ako every game namin,” Manabat expressed on her conditioning, with this conference being her first back in Foton’s starting six following an ACL injury.
Brooke Kranda added 21 markers to pace the Tornadoes. Bohdana Anisova topped the Lady Realtors with 22 points.
Foton forced a three-way tie in the middle of the standings, holding an identical 3-4 record with Sta. Lucia and Cignal HD.
