RC Cola-Army hardly slowed down after a long hiatus as it crushed Foton, 25-17, 25-9, 25-22, to kick off its campaign on a high note in the 2016 Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference women’s volleyball tournament last night at The Arena in San Juan.
Despite sitting out for three conferences, the Lady Troopers still played like real champions as they pounded hard on the Toplander’s anemic defense to gain a head-start in this prestigious inter-club tourney backed by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller and Grand Sports and was aired live over TV5.
Honey Royse Tubino spearheaded the team with 10 points on attacks and a block for a game-high 11 points, while Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachel Anne Daquis delivered nine and eight markers, respectively, for the Lady Troopers, who dominated the league in the 2013 All-Filipino, 2013 Grand Prix and 2014 All-Filipino conferences.
“It’s good to be back. Parang kahapon lang ‘yung huling laro namin dito,” said RC Cola-Army coach Kungfu Reyes shortly after their 44-minute domination of their foes. “We are very excited to play our first game after a three-conference absence. Everything looks familiar. It really feels good to be home.”
Also making a homecoming is Daquis, who towed Petron to a pair of titles before going back to Army.
“There was really no adjustment,” she said. “I spent a total nine years with Army right after college. So, I played more relaxed and more comfortable in my first game with them after a long while.”
The Lady Troopers jumped the gun early and raced to an 11-0 start in the second set. With Foton struggling on both ends, Tubino and Gonzaga imposed their might as the Lady Troopers completely smothered the Toplander to enter the deciding set overflowing with confidence.
