Games Saturday
(The Arena, San Juan City)
4 p.m. – Generika-Ayala vs Petron
6 p.m. – Cignal HD vs Foton
A more intense battle for volleyball supremacy is expected when the 2017 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix fires off on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City.
A slew of talented imports and the inclusion of two new teams spice up the competition which has Chooks-To-Go as title sponsor and ESPN 5 as TV partner.
The Iriga City Oragons and collegiate team University of Santo Tomas Tigresses make their debut in the league, joining defending champion Foton, Generika-Ayala, Cignal HD, Sta. Lucia, F2 Logistics, Petron Blaze, and Cocolife.
“With these new teams and new imports, this is going to be a very, very good competition,” said Foton’s Serbian coach Moro Branislav.
Foton’s title-retention campaign starts on opening day when the Tornadoes square off with the Cignal HD Spikers at 6 p.m.
Generika-Ayala and Petron raise the curtain at 4 p.m.
Twin tower sisters Jaja and Dindin Santiago banner Foton’s campaign along with veteran setter Rubie De Leon, Maika Ortiz, and CJ Rosario. They have Serbian libero Katarina Vukomanovic and outside spiker Dragana Perunicic, a national team member of Montenegro which competed in the European championships.
Meanwhile, former two-time NCAA MVP Grethcel Soltones leads neophyte team Iriga City while UST is composed of the same squad that will compete in the upcoming UAAP season.
The Tigresses, however, will miss key players EJ Laure, Chloe Cortez, and Cherry Rondina, who are playing in their respective club teams Foton, Generika, and Petron.
