F2's De Jesus wary of Foton

MANILA, Philippines – If Ramil de Jesus would have his way, he doesn’t want to face a dangerous team in Foton in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.

The 11-time UAAP champion coach admitted that beating the Tornadoes is easier said than done, especially now that Dindin Manabat and Jaja Santiago are back following a long tour of duty in a prestigious league in Japan.

In fact, Santiago played a very crucial role that prompted the Tornadoes to finish the 14-game preliminaries with a pair of crucial victories.

In Foton’s 25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-11 win over the Lifesavers late Thursday, Manabat was preserved while Santiago delivered 12 points to provide support to imports Courtney Felinski of United States and Milagros Collar of Spain.

“I must admit that I really don’t want to face Foton in the quarterfinals. Foton is a very dangerous team. You can’t take them lightly,” said de Jesus, whose F2 Logistics Cargo Movers need a single win to book a ticket to the semifinals.

“With Dindin and Jaja back, Foton surely gained confidence. We have to go back to the drawing board and be ready for them.”

Foton coach Aaron Velez said coming up a strong finishing kick was all part of the plan.

“We really wanted to come up with a strong finish,” he said.

“We feel that by winning our last couple of games, we will have the momentum going into the next round. I just hope we can translate that confidence into a victory in the quarterfinals.”

And it makes the quarterfinals doubly exciting.