Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Foton came face to face with a gritty and spunky Generika-Ayala squad Thursday night and it responded with a championship-worthy endgame performance.
The Tornadoes, playing uncharacteristically slow in the first two sets, clawed back from two sets down to hack out a 19-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 15-7 victory in the Philippine Superliga All Filipino Conference at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Foton coach Moro Branislav admitted that their matchup with Generika-Ayala caused them problems.
“We always have problem whenever we face Generika, it’s a good team,” he said. “We needed to address that concern first before we play our usual game.”
The Lifesavers were out for a massive upset with Fiola Ceballos, Patty Orendain and Gen Casugod going all out in the first two sets that caught the Tornadoes by surprise.
But Jaja Santiago and EJ Laure soon found their groove to get Foton’s system going en route to a hard-earned fifth straight victory in as many games in Pool C.
Generika fell to 2-3.
Santiago topscored with 26 points, while Laure added 20 to pace Foton’s offense that broke Generika-Ayala’s resolve.
Overall, Foton out-attacked Generika-Ayala, 57-49, which was made possible by solid defense. Libero Jen Reyes made 17 of 49 excellent digs, while Laure accounted for 10 saves.
In contrast, Generika-Ayala made 36 digs and 32 errors that doomed its chances.
Underrated players Ceballos score 18 for Generika-Ayala, while Orendain and Casugod added 15 and 13, respectively.