Jaja powers Foton to its first PSL win

Pre-tournament favorite Foton finally clinched an elusive victory at the expense of fellow struggler UP-United Auctioneers Inc., 25-10, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19, last night in the 2018 Chooks to GoPhilippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference at the Imus Sports Center in Cavite.

Prized spiker Jaja Santiago fired 24 points, 21 of them coming on the offensive end, while her elder sister, Dindin Manabat, tallied 14 points as the Tornadoes finally got the job done at the close of their preliminary round campaign.

Foton wound up with a 1-3 record, good for fourth spot in a stacked Group A. Meanwhile, UP-UA remained winless after three starts.

Earlier, the Philippine national women’s volleyball team continued to showcase what it’s capable of doing by overwhelming reigning tournament champion Cignal, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21.

Even with just eight players available, the Nationals still proved too strong for the HD Spikers as they showed versatility on the offensive end coupled with a sustained intensity on the defensive side on the way to their second consecutive straight-sets victory.

Skipper Aby Maraño stepped out of her comfort zone as a middle blocker and thrived as an opposite spiker this time around, tallying 13 hits, two blocks and a pair of service aces for an impressive 17-point output while delivering the killer blows down the stretch.

Fil-Am spiker MJ Phillips also made a good account of herself on her national team debut with 17 points, 16 of them off kills, while Ces Molina came up with six hits, 14 successful digs and six excellent receptions aside from the game-clinching crosscourt kill over Cignal libero Jheck Dionela.