PETRON and Foton clash in the highly anticipated Game One of the 2015 Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand best-of-three championship Prix on Thursday at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
The grandslam-seeking Blaze Spikers and first-time finalist Tornadoes open the showdown at 4 p.m. of the premier interclub tourney, presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Senoh, Mueller and Mikasa as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster.
Both squads went through a lot in this year’s Grand Prix before reaching the finals.
The reigning champions Petron, which was tagged as favorites after sweeping this year’s All-Filipino conference, had a roller coaster ride in the first round of preliminaries, finishing with a 3-2 start for third place.
“This conference is the toughest for us because the teams are unpredictable, all matches are balance it just depends in the winning desire of every team,” Petron Head Coach George Pascua said.
But when the second round started, the Blaze Spikers surged and finished second to secure a semifinals spot where they eventually eliminated Cignal for their third straight finals appearance.
“Returning to the finals is our goal we worked hard for this. So now we’re here we have to work harder since we want to achieve our next goal, the three-peat,” Pascua added.
Foton, on the other hand, had a slow start with a 1-3 slate but the Tornadoes won five straight games to book the last ticket in the semis. But they placed fourth and faced the league-leader Philips Gold.
Surprisingly, Foton pulled-off the biggest upset of the conference as they took down the top seed to enter the PSL finals for the first time in its franchise history.
“This is our goal and now we reached it,” Foton Head Coach Villet Ponce-de Leon said. “But before that we are thinking that we have a goal but once we reached it we have to surpass it. So now we’re on that situation. It’s a good morale booster for them and as I can see they are really doing well,”
Petron swept Foton in their two meetings in the elimination round but Pascua is cautious on what their opponents are capable of since they are in quest for an elusive Grand Slam.
“Foton had an amazing transition, they are the underdogs,” he said. “They are a good team but experience-wised, we have the advantage since my players are veterans in the game so hopefully we could use that against them.”
“We can’t afford to lose the championship because I always tell my players that every game they should think that there will be no tomorrow,” he added.
Pascua will be counting on his powerhouse roster bannered by Brazilian imports Erica Adachi and Rupia Inck with the star-studded locals led by Rachel Anne Daquis, Abi Marano, Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Ces Molina, and libero Jen Reyes.
“We also have a deep bench, whoever checks in contributes, that’s what my team have that others doesn’t have.”
However, de Leon said that they will give Petron a marquee finals showdown as she leans on the teamwork of the Tornadoes, led by American reinforcements Lindsay Stalzer and Kattie Messing, with the National University stars 6-foot-5 spiker Jaja Santiago and ace setter Ivy Perez.
“We don’t have superstars in the team. We just have players who really love to play the sport and really love to play together,” she said. “That’s our strength because we’re not playing only for the glory and fame. We’re playing together as a team because we love volleyball.”
“We will really fight for it and we will not give it in a silver platter we will not put it there and just give it to them. Expect Foton to fight for this title,” she added.