Heavyweights, newbies usher in new Superliga tourney

Games Thursday:

(Alonte Sports Arena, Binan, Laguna)

4:15 p.m. – Petron vs Foton

6:15 p.m. – Shopinas vs Mane 'N Tail

MANILA, Philippines – Heavyweights Petron and Foton clash for an early lead while Shopinas and Mane 'N Tail make their much-awaited debut when the 2015 Philippine Superliga (PSL) women's volleyball tournament All-Filipino Conference rolls to Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna Thursday.

The Blaze Spikers will gun for their second consecutive triumph when they face the Tornadoes at 4:15 p.m. while the Lady Clickers and Lady Stallions lock horns in the 6:15 p.m. main encounter of this inter-club tourney backed by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller Sports Medicine, Via Mare, LGR and Healthway Medical.

Bannered by the nucleus of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) powerhouse De La Salle University, Shopinas enters the league with sky-high expectation, especially after the squad headed by Cha Cruz, Stephanie Mercado and Michelle Laborte figured in the past two finals showdowns.

Known as AirAsia, the squad advanced to the finals before falling prey to a seasoned Philippine Army side in the All-Filipino Conference last year. Then, in the Grand Prix, the team known as Generika caught fire down the stretch before emerging runner-up to Petron.

This year, it's going to be a different story.

The Lady Clickers will be marching without their lead spikers in Aby Marano and Michelle Gumabao as well as defense specialist Melissa Gohing, creating a gaping hole in the rotation of coach Ramil de Jesus.

Marano, the second overall pick in last year's PSL Rookie Draft, joined the star-studded team of Petron while Gumabao and Gohing bolted for Philips Gold.

"It's going to be a very challenging season for us," said de Jesus, the lead architect of La Salle's dynasty in the UAAP. "We have to work doubly hard to overcome the loss of our three key players. The only good thing, however, is that we could give other young players their time to shine. I know they are all capable of stepping up."

But notching their debut win wouldn't be a cakewalk for the Lady Clickers since the Lady Stallions will parade an experienced crew headed by coach Rosemarie Prochina -- a member of the fabled national squad that won the gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore in 1993.

It was the country's last gold medal in the regional stage and Prochina hopes that the experience she shares with her wards will translate into victories.

Tasked to carry out Prochina's orders are former Cignal aces Honey Royse Tubino, Aby Praca, Norie Jane Diaz and Arianne Argarin as well as rookies Samantha Dawson and Khristine Basco.

"I like the composition of my team; it has a mixture of seasoned veterans and exciting rookies," said Prochina, who will be assisted by another member of that 1993 squad in Zenaida Chavez. "We give them advice and narrate the experience we had in the national team. But come game time, it all depends on them. They have to prove their worth inside the court."

Also expected to generate attention is the tussle between Petron and Foton.

With pretty opener Rachel Anne Daquis re-uniting with Marano, Dindin Santiago-Manabat, Frances Molina and rookie Alexa Micek, the Blaze Spikers will parade a rock-solid unit that is expected to give the young Tornadoes a tough challenge.

In their opening game against Philips Gold, in fact, Petron unleashed a well-balanced assault to essay a masterful 25-16, 25-18, 25-23 conquest despite the absence of Daquis.

Foton, for its part, will be banking on neophytes Angeli Araneta, Pamela Lastimosa, Nicole Tiamzon and Patty Orendain, who finished with a game-high 18 points in the Tornadoes' 25-18, 26-24, 25-23 win over Cignal over the weekend.