MANILA – Foton Tornadoes averted a disaster after a 26-24, 25-20, 15-25, 25-21 win over United VC at the start of the 2019 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix on Saturday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
American import Courtney Felinski tallied 23 points, including 19 attacks, while Turkish national team member Selime Ilyasoglu chipped in 19 markers and 14 digs for the two-time Grand Prix champions Tornadoes.
After handily winning the first two sets, the Tornadoes struggled heavily in the third frame allowing the United VC to surge to an early 11-4 advantage enroute to forcing another set.
The Tornadoes continued their sluggish plays in the fourth set and went down 4-10 but they countered with a run to tie the count at 18-all before Ilyasoglu and Felinski came up with hits down the stretch to clinch the win.
“I’m very happy on how the girls played,” said Tornadoes head coach Aaron Velez. “I’m surprised because in training we don’t normally talk, we just train hard, and today the imports were able to jell properly with the team,”
Yasmeen Bedart-Ghani delivered 23 points and 14 digs while Filipino-American spiker Kalei Mau registered 17 markers for the United VC, which also committed 30 unforced errors.
In the second game, Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors also started their campaign on a bright note after a 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 16-14 victory over the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers.
Casey Schoenlein led the way with 23 points, on 17 attacks and six blocks, while Amanda Villanueva added six markers for the Lady Realtors./PN
