Foton upbeat with early arrival of imports

MANILA, Philippines – Save for some minor adjustments, everything is going well for Foton imports Courtney Felinski of United States and Selime Ilyasoglu of Turkey in their preparation for the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix.

Tornadoes’ team manager Diane Santiago said they are happy over their reinforcements' early arrival since it gives them the luxury to tie the loose ends and adjust before the import-flavored conference fires off next month.

Felinski and Ilyasoglu are the first imports to arrive as they landed in Manila Monday of last week.

They buckled down to training the following day and got a glimpse of their new teammates and the system of Foton mentor Aaron Velez.

“So far, so good,” said Santiago, the sister of Foton superstars Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat.

“They are entering their first week of training and they are now adjusting to the system and developing chemistry with their new teammates.”

Foton is known to recruit very good imports.

In 2015, they tapped Lindsay Stalzer and Katie Messing to clinch their first-ever PSL crown. The following year, Stalzer returned to partner with Oregon stalwart Ariel Usher to successfully defend their Grand Prix crown.

Since then, Serbian stars Sara Klisura, Dragana Perunicnic and Katarina Vukamanovic donned Foton’s orange and blue followed by Channon Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago and Elizabeth Wendel of the United States.

Now, they are leaving their fates on two foreign players who have the best credentials in Felinski and Ilyasoglu.

“Our hopes are high,” Santiago said. “I hope with Courtney and Selime around, we will be able to figure prominently and contend for the title.”