THE Grand Prix conference is not yet over but Foton Tornadoes have already proved that they are the Cinderella team of Philippine Superliga (PSL).
Playing without established stars, Foton continued to impress mainly because of the camaraderie and team work being shown by the players of Head Coach Villet Ponce-de Leon.
Bannered by two American imports Lindsay Stalzer—a returning reinforcement from Cignal in last year’s Grand Prix and first-timer Katie Messing— plus 6-foot-5 rookie Jaja Santiago, the Tornadoes are just one win away from their first-ever title in the interclub league.
“We’re really a Cinderella team. Fairy tales do come true. We are here already and we’re one game away,” de Leon said after beating defending champion Petron in four sets, 14-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, in Game One on Thursday at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
“Last Grand Prix, we were fifth but now we’re already here and that’s one example of a Cinderella story,” she added.
Foton joined the PSL in last year’s Grand Prix and finished fifth in their league debut. In this year’s All-Filipino conference, the Tornadoes slightly improved to No. 4.
Foton rose from a sluggish 1-3 start before winning five in a row to secure the last semifinals spot. They placed fourth and set a knockout match against the league-leader Philips Gold.
The league’s underdogs pulled off the biggest surprise in the semis by taking down the top-seeded Lady Slammers to enter the PSL finals for the first time in their franchise history and set up a best-of-three title series with Petron.
“We’re fourth seed so we really had to double our efforts and it’s paying off,” de Leon said.
She expects Petron to come back on Game Two but de Leon wants her squad to go for the kill in Game Two on Monday also at the Cuneta Astrodome.
“We need to fire up. We don’t need to relax now. We’re already here, we’re one game away so the energy and intensity we have in this game, if we need to double it in Game Two we will do it,” she said.