LEGAZPI CITY – Foton had the bravest of hearts as it clawed its way back from a huge deficit to escape with a nail-biting 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-7 victory over RC Cola-Army in the semifinals of the Asics Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Saturday at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation here.
The Tornadoes shrugged off a rusty start before Ariel Usher buckled down to business and spearheaded the Tornadoes back to the finals of this prestigious club tourney bankrolled by Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller and Grand Sport with TV5 as official broadcast partner.
Usher, the blonde bomber from Portland, delivered the crucial hits, including the booming attack from the right flank that put an exclamation mark on this marathon battle that lasted for two hours and 37 minutes.
The Tornadoes would face the winner of the other semifinal pairing between F2 Logistics and Petron in a best-of-three finals affair when the league sponsored by Focus Athletics, KLab Cyscorpions, Foton, Petron and F2 Logistics resumed on Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Usher exploded in the third and fourth sets as she erupted for 15 kills, five blocks and two aces for a total of 22 points for the Tornadoes, who started the game on the wrong foot that allowed the Lady Troopers to seize control and gain an early momentum.
Jaja Santiago finished with 14 points while Lindsay Stalzer had 14 hits, much to the delight of Foton coach Moro Branislav who earlier tagged this semifinal showdown as the “real battle” among four of the best club teams in the country today.
“I’m happy for my team that they finished strong for us to enter in the finals,” said the Serbian coach, who is looking to steer the Tornadoes back to the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship that would be held in Kazakhstan next year.
“RC Cola-Army is such a difficult team to beat. They always play good when they know they’re in a big battle. I have high respect for this team.
True enough, what was tipped to be a cakewalk for the topseed Tornadoes turned into a full-blown war as the Lady Troopers showed up prepared and ready to pull off an earthshaking upset.
RC Cola-Army took control of the first two sets before threatening as it knotted the count at 18 in the third set.
But Usher responded with three straight kills as Foton gained the set point, 24-21, to stretch the match into another set.