Last-stand Foton clicks, ends up 7th

BIÑAN—Foton Pilipinas fashioned out a gritty final performance to overcome T. Grand of Chinese Taipei yesterday and wind up seventh in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Women’s Club Championship at Alonte Sports Arena here.

Refusing to yield to a dogged Taiwanese crew that also wanted to exit the tournament on a high, the Tornadoes gutted out a 25-17, 30-28, 25-23 victory that improved on the country’s eighth-place finishes in the tournament the past two years.

It was only the second win in seven matches for the Foton Pilipinas side, which fell short of its target of reaching the semifinals.

Later in the evening, NEC Red Rockets of Japan crushed Ba’yi Shengzhen of China, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21, to capture the title.

Defending champion Bangkok Glass clawed back from two sets down to outlast Altay VC of Kazakhstan, 22-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-6, to settle for third place.

The Tornadoes’ Italian coach Fabio Menta conceded that the team was “not matured enough to handle this kind of pressure.”

American imports Lindsay Stalzer and Ariel Usher led the Tornadoes with 18 and 15 points, respectively, while local reinforcements Aby Maraño (F2 Logistics) and Jovelyn Gonzaga (RC Cola-Army) added 11 and 10.

The country now braces for the tougher FIVB Women’s Club World Championships on Oct. 18 to 23 at Mall of Asia Arena.