Tornadoes bag PSL title

Lindsay Stalzer of Foton Tornadoes and Rupia Inck Furtado, Abigail Mariano, Rachel Anne Daquis of Petron Blaze Spikers during PSL volleyball championship at Cuneta Astrodome.   KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ

Foton finally completed its Cinderella finish, displaying an all-out effort to climb all the way from the bottom to topple defending champion Petron Saturday for the 2015 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix crown.

Lindsay Stalzer, Katie Messing, Jaja Santiago, Kayla Williams and Angeli Araneta launched an unstoppable drive to secure the 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 Game 3 triumph before a sellout crowd at Cuneta Astrodome.

It was a fairy tale run for the Tornadoes, who struggled with their new recruits in the preconference, made it to the semifinals as the last-placed team and eventually marched to the title series as serious underdogs.

“We really prayed for it. Thank you Lord,” said a jubilant Foton coach Vilet Ponce de Leon. “We gave it our all. It was not easy but all worth it.”

In a series that pitted Petron’s championship credentials against Foton’s tall lineup, the only factor that mattered yesterday was the Tornadoes’ burning desire as they came out firing on all cylinders.

“We played as one unit, that’s how we won over the top seasoned players in the league,” said De Leon.

The Tornadoes only committed 10 errors against the Blaze Spikers’ 15. Foton also had 17 excellent digs compared to 15 by Petron.

Stalzer, the Chicago-born touring pro, led Foton with 20 points. Her overall skills and leadership also earned the 31-year-old the Most Valuable Player award. Among other individual awards winners were Petron’s George Pascua for best coach, best libero Jen Reyes of Petron, second best opposite Frances Molina of Petron, first best opposite Michelle Gumabao of Philips Gold, second best setter Adachi and first best setter Perez.