By Ivan Saldajeno
IMUS—Myla Pablo sizzled for 31 points, all on attacks, and sparked Philips' game-turning 6-0 run to steal the win from Foton after a 25-20, 25-20, 15-25, 17-25, 15-11, in the third place match of the PLDT Home Ultera-Philippine Super Liga All-Filipino Conference at the Imus City Sports Center on Monday night.
Fresh from a stint with the national team in the AVC U-23 Championship last week, Pablo quickly set the scoring tone for the Lady Slammers as she helped them pull away from a close first set before igniting a comeback in the second set to push them to the brink of the bronze medal finish.
Pam Lastimosa, however, sparked the Tornadoes' domination of the third set to force the fourth period, where Nicole Tiamzon caught fire and helped them further stretch the match to the race-to-15 Set 5.
Tiamzon, Lastimosa, and Patty Orendain led Foton's charge in the deciding set as they gave the club some momentum in a back-and-forth period to take a 11-9 lead.
But Pablo's late scoring surge and Philips' defense highlighted the team's final 6-0 blast to steal the match.
Michelle Gumabao also played big for the Lady Slammers after tallying 20 points on 14 spikes, four aces, and two blocks.
Lastimosa and Angeli Araneta led four Tornadoes in double figures with 15 markers each. Orendain and Tiamzon were the other two players, making 14 and 13 respectively.