Foton clashes with Generika-Ayala for a chance to avoid a last-place finish in the classification phase of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Game time is at 7 p.m., with the Tornadoes looking for their third win in this prestigious women’s club tourney bankrolled by Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project.
Also looking to avoid last place is Sta. Lucia Realty, which will clash with United VC at 4:15 p.m., while Cignal formalizes its claim of a twice-to-beat incentive when it battles F2 Logistics in the final day of classification of this tourney that also has ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners.
After booking a four-set win over Sta. Lucia last Tuesday, the Tornadoes captured their second win in 13 matches to forge a tie with the Lady Realtors at the cellar of the eight-team standings.
With that, the final day of classification will be very crucial for both the Tornadoes and the Lady Realtors as the lose will not only sink at the bottom, but would also have a quarterfinal date with spotless Petron in the quarterfinals starting Saturday.
The winner, however, will occupy seventh spot and punch a ticket against second seed F2 Logistics in the next round.
Both Petron and F2 Logistics, the protagonists in the past few finals showdowns, will enjoy a twice-to-beat edge.
“We need this win coming into the quarterfinals,” said Foton coach Aaron Velez, who will bank anew on imports Milagros Collar, Courtney Felinski and Jaja Santiago. “We’ll focus on this game first before we think about what’s ahead.”
But winning over their respective foes is easier said than done.
United VC also needs a victory to steal the fourth spot and the twice-to-beat bonus from Cignal, which will clash with the Cargo Movers later in the day.
On the other hand, Generika-Ayala stays at no. 6, but is still hungry for a win to boost its morale before marching into the quarterfinals against PLDT Home Fibr, which wrapped up the classification at the third spot with an 8-6 win-loss mark.
“It’s going to be a very interesting battle,” said Generika-Ayala coach Sherwin Meneses.
“This is the last day of classification and we all need wins, not only to improve our standing, but also to gain momentum entering the next round.”
Meneses, in particular, is tipped to unleash his big guns of imports Kseniya Kocyigit and Kanjana Kuthaisong as well as locals Patty Orendain, Fiola Ceballos and Marivic Meneses and Bia General.