Foton rides diesel engine to victory over Cocolife

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Reigning champion Foton needed a little time to heat up before cruising to a 20-25, 25-17, 28-26, 25-18 victory over Cocolife in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix Saturday night at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Serbian import Sara Klisura and Jaja Santiago spewed fire from all angles to tow the Tornadoes to their second straight victory.

In this win, Foton needed to warm up its engine before going full rev on its foes.

And Klisura was at the forefront of the onslaught, finishing with 17 kills and five blocks for 22 points while Santiago uncorked 16 kills, three blocks and a pair of service aces.

Montenegrin Dragana Perunicic added 14 markers.

Despite the win, Foton head coach Moro Branislav was still far from satisfied with his wards’ accomplishment.

“After the first match, all people start saying that maybe Foton is a very strong team,” said Branislav.

Branislav emphasized that his players have yet to reach their full potential after three of them failed to meet his expectations.

“It’s good that we won 3-1. But you saw that three players didn’t play the same level during our first match,” he said.

Americans Tai Manu-Olevao and Taylor Fae Milton tallied 16 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Asset Managers, who took their second-straight setback in the tournament bankrolled by Cignal, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller, Grand Sport, Rebisco, Island Rose, Cloudfone, UCPB Gen and Asics.

Cignal and Petron, two powerhouse squads tipped to challenge Foton, were playing at press time.