Santiago, Foton pound Amy’s Kitchen

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

PETRON smothered Cignal, 25-14, 25-13, 27-25, Tuesday night to claim the solo lead in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference at Cuneta Astrodome.

Skipper Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Ces Molina each had 11 points for the Tri-Activ Spikers, who improved to  3-0.

Former Far Eastern standout Cherry May Vivas and University of Santo Tomas alumnus Mela Tunay each had six points for the HD Spikers, who dropped to 0-3.

In the first game, 6-foot-4 Jaja Santiago exploited her length anew and tore the defense apart as Foton demolished Amy’s 25-14, 25-7, 25-18.

Santiago, switching to open spiker and back to her usual middle hitter position in between sets, produced 15 points, including 12 spikes, and three blocks for the Tornadoes, who picked up their second straight win.

“We maximize the abilities of our players,” said Foton coach Vilet Ponce de Leon.

Besides winning as many games as possible, Ponce de Leon sees the tournament as the team’s preparation for the Asian Women’s Club Championship in September. The Tornadoes are last year’s Grand Prix conference champions.

“Majority of the players will be playing there,” said Ponce de Leon.  “At this point, we have to level up against the competition.”

Backing up Santiago in the match that took only 69 minutes to finish were cherry Rondina and Carol Cerveza, who scored six points each.

Amy’s absorbed a third straight defeat with skipper Cindy Imbo and Maribeth Lara also winding up with six points.