protobuf vectorTileLayerStyles: filter out some elements

I am using a protobuf tile server which returns me cities, and I'd like to draw only some of them, for instance the one starting with letter A (could be anything else actually).

Yet I am using:

L.vectorGrid.protobuf(
  tilesServerUrl,
  vectorTileLayerStyles: {
    "cities": (properties, zoom) => {
      if (properties.name.indexOf('a') !== 0) {
        return {
          fillOpacity: 0,
          stroke: false,
          fill: false,
          opacity: 0,
          weight: 0,
        };
      } else {
        return {
          weight: 2,
          color: 'red',
          fill: true,
          fillOpacity: 0.8
        };
      }
    }
  }
);

~~My issue is, I believe, that all my cities are still drawn and that makes the map scroll very laggy because there are too much points on the map. ~~ Actually vectorGrid by itself is fine, it is combined with angular that the issue rises really. But filtering out points would solve the issue so still keeping this issue open for my part.

Thus I'd like to totally filter out the cities not matching given criteria. Is that possible?

Start at the vectorGrid.protobuf entry point and inspect how vectorTileLayerStyles are applied to protobuf features. Determine where nonmatching cities could be excluded before rendering, and verify that matching cities remain styled while excluded points no longer contribute to map rendering or scrolling performance.