Sta. Lucia finally snapped its five-game skid as it turned back Foton, 13-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22, in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Casey Schoenlein delivered the killer blows in the third and fourth sets to tow the Lady Realtors to their second victory in this prestigious women’s club league that has ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners.
Schoenlein tallied 13 points, while her partner Molly Lohman had 12 markers for the Lady Realtors, who stepped back on winning track in this battle that also has Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project as technical sponsors.
The locals also stepped up for Sta. Lucia up as Pam Lastimosa had nine points on top of 12 digs and seven excellent receptions while Jho Maraguinot chipped in nine hits and 15 receptions in a well-balanced offensive assault.
“I like it because they played more relaxed. They enjoyed inside the court, which is something that we lost in our previous games. I’m very happy with it,” said Sta. Lucia mentor Babes Castillo.
“The issue ever since is how do we finish. Now, I think this is a good experience for them, they get to know how to finish the game, they get to know how to play in tight situations.”
After a sluggish first set, the Lady Realtors got their acts together in the succeeding sets, where they engaged the Tornadoes in toe-to-toe battle.
The Lady Realtors fought back from a 19-21 deficit in the fourth set as Vilanueva delivered a cross-court hit and a service ace for a 22-22 turnaround.
Schoenlein delivered back-to-back spikes for the match point, 24-21, before Selime Ilyasoglu committed a crucial attack error to hand the Lady Realtors the victory.
“I like how we played. Hopefully, we can carry this into th second round,” Castillo said.
Courtney Felinski had 23 kills, four aces and a block for a 28-point effort while Ilyasoglu and Elaine Kasilag chipped in 15 and nine points, respectively, for two-time champion Foton, which suffered its fifth loss in six games.