Defending champion Petron and Sta. Lucia gave a glimpse of the form that had preseason pundits scrambling to label them title favorites in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.
On Tuesday, three more squads with title hopes make their debut as F2 Logistics, Chery Tiggo and Cignal square off against separate foes at Bacoor Strike Gym in Cavite.
F2 Logistics will brandish a solid local core reinforced by fan-favorite Lindsay Stalzer when it kicks off its tournament against PLDT Home Fibr at 5 p.m., before the Chery Tiggo battles Marinerang Pilipina at 7.
Cignal kicks off the heavy schedule with a battle against Generika-Ayala at 3 p.m.
The Cargo Movers last won the Grand Prix in 2017 before Petron dominated the next two editions of the tournament and will have depth as their main weapon when they go for the crown anew this year.
Stalzer will have a tough local crew to complement her skills, with Kalei Mau, Kim Dy, Aby Maraño, Majoy Baron, Kim Fajardo and Dawn Macandili expected to shine for coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Kalei is a super good addition to the team. I love having her around. She brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm and power to the practices and of course, she’ll bring it to the game,” Stalzer said. “She’s also very good at just being communicative with all the players. She really brings everyone together, making everyone comfortable with each other.”
Chery Tiggo meanwhile, hopes to collect as many wins as it can in the preliminary phase before welcoming back sisters Jaja Santiago and Dindin Santiago-Manabat back to the fold. The two sisters will join the Crossovers late in the tournament after their stint as imports in Japan.
But the Crossovers will not be without talent as it reeled in Tatjana Bokan of Montenegro and national team spiker Mylene Paat to a core than includes young superstar Eya Laure.