Tornadoes flub set edge, yield to Viets

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

BIÑAN CITY—Thongtin Lien Viet Post Bank cranked up its defense right on time to foil an aggressive Foton Pilipinas Sunday.

Unflinching despite a 2-1 set deficit, the Vietnamese regrouped at the net and on the floor to score a come-from-behind 25-18, 19-25, 20-25, 25-12, 15-8 triumph in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Women’s Club Championships.

The result silenced the huge partisan crowd at Alonte Arena here that had expected the Tornadoes to nail their second straight win and sweep the Group 1 preliminaries.

The defeat hurt Foton Pilipinas’ bid to reach the tournament’s semifinals.

The Tornadoes are expected to advance to the quaterfinals, though, unless Vietnam loses to lowly Kwai Tsing of Hong Kong on Monday.

But the road ahead for the Philippine entry as the group’s No. 2 qualifier is strewn with bigger obstacles. The Tornadoes will be up against even mightier foes in Altay VC of Kazakhstan and NEC Red Rockets of Japan.

Jaja Santiago, Aby Maraño and Jovelyn Gonzaga were in their usual element, while reinforcement Ariel Usher and Cherry Rondina stepped up in the absence of Lindsay Stalzer, who complained of back spasms and sat out the match.

The Tornadoes bounced back from a first-set defeat with aplomb, delivering a spiking exhibition to take the second and third sets.

But they inexplicably lost their rhythm in the fourth set against a rejuvenated foe that seemed to get stronger scoring on blocked shots.

Vietnamese skipper Minh Do Thi scored 22 points, including five blocks, to lead the visitors.

Usher scored 20 points, while Gonzaga and Santiago added 16 and 13, respectively, for Foton Pilipinas.

With the 6-foot-4 Usher banging in successive spikes, the Tornadoes claimed a 5-4 advantage in the fifth set.

But the Vietnamese buckled down to work at the net anew, denying Rondina and Maraño and virtually defanging the Philippines’ offensive options.