Games Today (The Arena, San Juan City)
4:15 pm – Sta. Lucia vs Iriga City
7:00 pm – Generika-Ayala vs Cocolife
Foiled the last time out, Generika Ayala tries to redeem itself against debuting Cocolife tonight in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix action at The Arena in San Juan City.
Game time is at 7 p.m., with the Lifesavers out to bounce back from a straight-set loss to the the Petron Blaze Spikers in the opener over the weekend and the Asset Managers out to gain a share of the early lead.
Serving as a fitting appetizer is the 4:15 p.m. encounter between the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors and the Iriga City Oragons, both raring to make their presence felt early on in the season-ending tournament.
Canadian national team standouts Marisa Field and Kristen Moncks plus Ukrainian Bodhana Anisova are tipped to provide the needed strength to Sta. Lucia which also has the likes of top locals Pam Lastimosa, Jannine Navarro and Djanel Cheng in its fold.
Standing in the way of the Lady Realtors are the Oragons, one of two two new squads which will parade 6-foot-6 Serbian hitter Tamara Kzemic, the tallest import in the field, aside from Japanese libero Minami Yoshioka and local star Grethcel Soltones.
Much of the spotlight, however, will fall on the main match, with Generika-Ayala hoping to get vastly-improved performances from its troika of reinforcements in Katarina Pilepic of Croatia, Darlene Ramdin of Trinidad and Tobago and Penina Snuka of United States.
Ramdin, dubbed as the “Croatian Hammer” following a productive stint with University of Arizona, had a team-high 14 points but struggled against the Blaze Spikers’ solid net defense anchored by Mika Reyes and Ria Meneses, who chalked up three blocks apiece. Even Ramdin, who led he country to the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament recently, groped for form, coming up with just nine points.
“I feel that we still have something more to show. I expect the girls to go all out for a bounce back victory against Cocolife” said Generika-Ayala coach Francis Vicente, who is also hoping to see local stars Gen Casugod, Fiola Ceballos, Kat Arado and skipper Angeli Araneta come up big. (Jerome Lagunzad)
