After their three-peat bid went aflame last Saturday, the Foton Tornadoes managed a third place finish in the 2017 Chooks-to-Go Philippine Superliga Grand Prix after sweeping the Cocolife Asset Managers, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Tornadoes, who bowed out of the semis to Petron in four heated sets, needed to end their season on a positive note, at least, according to head coach Moro Branislav.
“This has been a very competitive season. Maybe if we won two or more sets, maybe we’d be in the Finals. It just so happened we lost to Petron, our only two losses of the season were from Petron. They’re a more complete team,” conceded Branislav.
“It was tough for my team to play today after the loss on Saturday so I’m very proud of what they showed today,” added the decorated Serbian tactician.
Foton was dominant in their podium-clinching match, outclassing the fourth placers in all scoring categories including an eight to zero blocks deficit.
National Team stalwart Jaja Santiago topped all scorers with 17 points while high-scoring Serbiam import Sara Klisura added 13.
Cocolife, who had their best finish in franchise history, was led by Tai Manu-Olevao’s 16 point output finish while Taylor Milton managed 10.
The Scores
Foton (3) – Santiago 17, Klisura 13, Perunicic 11, Ortiz 8, Perez 4, Rosario 2, Manabat 1, Sabas 0, Yongco 0, Vukomanovic (L)
Cocolife (0) – Manu-Olevao 16, Milton 10, Gumabao 6, Bautista 2, Bunag 1, Pabayo 1, Alkuino 0, Gonzales 0, Salak 0, Lazaro (L)
