Foton bucks slow start to turn back Sta. Lucia

In a recent guesting with an Inquirer sports show, Foton superstar Jaja Santiago was asked about the character the Tornadoes will flash in the coming Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference.

“There’s one thing that our coaches always tell us that we will try to do in the All-Filipino,” Santiago said.

“Finish strong.”

They might want to work on how they start, too.

The Tornadoes bucked a slow start to their conference opener before hammering out a 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-21 victory over Sta. Lucia Realty on Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre.

Santiago and sister Dindin Santiago-Manabat again provided the cornerstone for the victory but it was the additional firepower from Elaine Kasilag that pushed Foton off to a good start in the conference.

Kasilag had 20 points on 20 attacks that quelled the Lady Realtors’ uprising.

Earlier, Generika-Ayala bounced back from an ugly start to the conference by whipping Marinerang Pilipina, 25-18, 25-15, 25-23.

The Lifesavers opened their conference on the raw end of a 25-12, 25-21, 25-17 defeat to powerhouse F2 Logistics and flexed their muscles this time to send the Lady Skippers to a second straight loss in an hour and 23 minutes.

Patty Orendain, who struggled in the opener, put up an all-around performance for Generika-Ayala with 18 points off 15 attacks. She also had a pair of aces and a block and threw in 16 digs and eight excellent receptions.

Ria Meneses and Fiola Ceballos had 11 points each while Angeli Araneta added eight markers for the Lifesavers.

“This win is a huge help for us, especially the morale of the team, as the league just started,” Generika-Ayala head coach Sherwin Meneses said. “I’m glad that we managed to recover from our first game loss; it was an ugly defeat for us.”