THE Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix fires off on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan with a record field of nine teams.
Foton remains the heavy favorite in winning its third straight crown, while Petron, Cignal and F2 Logistics are tipped to give the powerhouse squad a serious fight in the tournament that has Chooks To Go as title sponsor.
Serbians Sara Klisura, Katarina Vukamanovic and Montenegrin Dragana Perunicnic lead Foton’s charge.
The Blaze Spikers will bank on seasoned reinforcement Lindsay Stalzer and Hillary Hurley of the United States with Yuri Fukuda of Japan serving as libero.
The HD Spikers, on the other hand, addressed their needs on defense and recruited Beth Carey of Australia, Alexis Matthews of the US and Mami Miyashita of Japan.
The Cargo Movers will rest injured spiker Ara Galang, but her absence will be hardly felt with the acquisition of Kennedy Bryan of the US and Olympian Maria Jose Perez of Venezuela.
“With a record of nine teams, this is going to be the biggest PSL ever,” said PSL President Ramon “Tats” Suzara during the press launch graced by PSL Chairman Philip Ella Juico, ESPN5 Head Patricia Bermudez-Hizon and Bounty Agro Ventures President Ronald Mascarinas.
Bermudez-Hizon added that all games will be shown live on ESPN5, with the first match set at 4 p.m. and the second match at 6 p.m..
Also seeing action are Generika-Ayala, Sta. Lucia Realty, Cocolife and new teams Iriga City and University of Santo Tomas.
The Lifesavers will parade Croatia’s Katarina Pilepic, Hawaii’s Penina Snuka and Trinidad and Tobago’s Darlene Ramdin, who is just fresh from leading her country to the International Volleyball Federation World Championship in Japan next year.
Sta. Lucia, meanwhile, will have Canadian national team members Marisa Field and Kristen Moncks and Ukrainian Bodhana Anisova at the forefront, while Cocolife will bank on Tai Manu-Olevao and Taylor Milton of the United States.
Iriga City is also a force despite being the league’s newest member. The Lady Oragons will parade Tamara Kmezic of Serbia, who is the tallest import ever to play in the PSL at 6-foot-6.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes