The Foton Tornadoes absorbed everything Stephanie Niemer and Petron Tri-Activ Spikers threw at them and still came out whipping, claiming the rematch of the 2015 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Final 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 15-13 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Petron’s American import Stephanie Niemer dished out a conference-high 38 points but the Tornadoes plugged her attacks at the most crucial time.
After trading set wins and absorbing controversial calls from the referees, both squads were tied for most of the fifth set. Foton setter Rhea Dimaculangan served straight to the net to tie the decider at 13. Petron then went to Niemer, who had the hot hand, in the next point but was stopped clean by Maika Ortiz. The Tri-Activ Spikers tried to give it to the Cincinnati-native one more time to force a deuce but Jaja Santiago caught Niemer’s down-the-line stab, ending the match.
“I don’t think we played great. For my opinion, Petron is still the best team in tournament. We’re lucky we got the win in the end but we need to get more training as a team to continue to improve,” said Foton head coach Moro Branislav.
Foton’s American import Lindsay Stalzer fired in 29 points, Jaja Santiago, who played opposite spiker for the first time this season, added 19 markers while Ariel Usher managed 15.
Niemer was the only Tri-Activ Spiker to score in double-digits.
Foton took the Grand Prix title from Petron last season.
The Tornadoes (4-0) will play Cignal (1-2) while Petron (4-1) will face F2 Logistics (1-2) on Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Scores
Foton (3) – Stalzer 29, Santiago 19, Usher 15, Ortiz 10, Manabat 6, Dimaculangan 1, Laure 1, Ortiz 0, Perez 0, General (L)
Petron (2) – Niemer 38, Warner 8, Pontillas 7, Molina 6, Rosario 4, Aganon 1, Masangkay 1, Nunag 1, Hingpit 0, Zapanta 0, Pineda (L), Reyes (L)
