De Jesus not surprised with Foton’s near-upset of F2 Logistics

MANILA, Philippines – A lot of doubts were raised when Foton pushed F2 Logistics to the brink of elimination.

Everybody was worried except for one man — Ramil de Jesus.

De Jesus admitted that they dug deep into their championship experience that goes all the way back from their college days when the Tornadoes shocked them in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.

Aby Marano, Dawn Macandili and Ara Galang all practically grew up under de Jesus at De La Salle University. That’s why it didn’t come as a surprise when they delivered an impressive performance in the crucial stretch of their 25-22, 25-27, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the Tornadoes that sent them to the next round.

“This team has been battle-tested since college,” said De Jesus, who has a collection of 11 championship trophies for La Salle in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

“They become more focused when coming from a loss and they know how to bounce back.”

De Jesus said Foton posed a serious threat to their title bid.

After all, Dindin Manabat and Jaja Santiago played their hearts out while American import Courtney Felinski delivered impressive numbers to somehow bury the absence of Milagros Collar of Spain.

And had Collar played, it could have been an entirely different story.

“I was threatened by this Foton team because of its size,” he said.

“It could have been a different result had Collar managed to see action.”

The Cargo Movers will face the survivor between Generika-Ayala and PLDT Home Fibr in the best-of-three semifinal series.