The Foton Tornadoes notched the bronze medal in the 2018 Chooks-To-Go PSL Grand Prix after fending off the Cocolife Asset Managers on Tuesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Foton displayed increased aggressiveness following a slow first set to complete a 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 victory over Cocolife.
Channon Thompson led the charge with 26 points built on 22 attacks, two blocks, and two aces. Jaja Santiago also had a stellar outing of 23 points, while Elizabeth Wendel contributed 11 markers.
"Today we went out to get third place and we all decided that this is our last opportunity to play in this conference together," said Thompson. "We don't know what the future holds, so we said let's play with our hearts and let's play this sport that we love and enjoy and let's just go and have fun more than anything else. That really was the motivating factor going out into this game."
With the game locked at one set apiece, Cocolife fell into a six point-hole early in Set 3 but managed to climb out and erase the gap. From 22-all, the Asset Managers were first to reach set point, but they failed to capitalize on the opportunity as Ging Balse-Pabayo committed a service error. Tots Carlos denied Sara Klisura to hand control back to Foton, then Jaja Santiago scored through the block for the 2-1 set lead.
The Tornadoes were on a roll in the fourth set, pulling away by as many as seven points. Cocolife inched within three after a 5-1 blitz, but Foton managed to stay on top. Thompson closed the match with a deceptive 1-2 play and an emphatic rejection of Marta Drpa's attempt.
Drpa paced the Asset Managers with 23 points, while Klisura added 14.
The Tornadoes, who also finished in third place in last year's Grand Prix, secured this win over their former coach Moro Branislav.