Foton, Army in winner-take-all battle for a Finals berth

Top seed Foton Tornadoes battle RC Cola-Army to punch a ticket to the championship round.

MALOLOS CITY – Powerhouse RC Cola-Army will remain wounded when it clashes with top seed Foton in the semifinals of the 2016 Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference women’s volleyball tournament Thursday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center here.

Action starts at 6:00 p.m. following the equally crucial battle Generika and Amy’s in the classification for 5th to 8th places at 4:00 p.m.

Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad said this historic city is proud to roll out the red carpet the country's best volleyball players, especially to Bulacan players like Mika Reyes of F2 Logistics, Jen Jen Reyes of Petron and Ria Meneses of Generika.

"It is our pleasure to host this volleyball spectacle," Natividad said. "We welcome the league with open arms and look forward to inspiring the yourh through volleyball."

Billed as a solid heavyweight for parading a mixture of young blood and seasoned veterans, the Lady Troopers was dealt with a major blow when they surrendered a pair of back-to-back losses to F2 Logistics to start the second round on a sour note. 

Then, in the first set of their match against Foton at La Salle Lipa Sentrum last week, the heart and soul of their offense – Rachel Anne Daquis – went down with a left foot injury, forcing her to sit out the remainder of the game. Daquis was assessed with a partial tear on her plantar aponeurosis, an injury that requires at least two weeks to completely heal.

Daquis, however, is listed as day to day while Dr. Isagani Leal observes the healing process.

RC Cola-Army lost against Foton in five sets followed by another heart-crushing loss to Petron to finish the second round without a single win in three matches. The Lady Troopers took the fourth seed while the unbeaten Tornadoes assumed the top spot in the semifinals.

“Now we have a big problem: How can we replace Rachel’s production of around 15 to 17 points a game,” said RC Cola-Army coach Kungfu Reyes. “As you saw against Petron, we struggled offensively because our top scorer was out. We have to find a way to solve that if we want to remain in contention for the title.”

A loss by RC Cola-Army will relegate it to the battle for 3rd and 4th places against the loser of the other semifinal match between Petron and F2 Logistics on Saturday when the league moves back to The Arena in San Juan. 

On the contrary, the 2015 Grand Prix champion Foton is playing like a well-oiled machine.

The Tornadoes escaped the Lady Troopers by the skin of their teeth before crushing Petron and F2 Logistics to survive the second round unscathed. And three of the biggest reasons behind this amazing run are the youngest players on the team – Cherry Rondina, Jaja Santiago and EJ Laure.

Against the Cargo Movers, for instance, Santiago and Rondina carried bulk of the offensive load as they finished with 19 and 11 points, respectively, while Laure had six markers and provided a ton of intangibles for Foton, which will represent the country in the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship from Sept. 3 to 11.

“We are peaking at the right time,” said Foton coach Villet Ponce-de Leon. “I like how the team is playing right now. The morale is high and the mood in training is very lively. I just hope we sustain it.”

But Ponce-de Leon warned her wards against complacency.

“We know that RC Cola-Army is hungry,” she said. “They are the veteran team and they can use their experience to their advantage. We have to dictate the pace from start to finish.”

Source:http://sports.abs-cbn.com/volleyball/news/2016/08/03/foton-army-winner-take-battle-finals-berth-13940