MANILA, Philippines—Taking the youngsters to the distance, the Systema Active Smashers took their talents to five sets to entangle the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 14-25, 25-18, 19-25, 25-9, 15-9, in the Men’s Division of the 11th Season of the Shakey’s V-League at the Arena in San Juan Tuesday evening.
Systema used a dominant fourth set to capture the momentum that propelled them to the fifth set.
Falling behind two sets to one going into the fourth set, the Active Smashers built an 8-2 lead at the start and prevented the Tamaraws for a double-digit score.
With Tamaraw errors fuelling their run, Systema had an 11-point lead, 20-9, then upped the ante to close set going on a 6-0 blitz to finish 25-9.
Systema head coach Arnold Laniog said they may have the pieces but they still lack the chemistry that would be vital for their title run.
“We don’t yet know how to gel completely as a team, we have some of the best players, the best stars, but we must gel as a team,” Laniog said.
“When we play, we still have to figure out how to gel.”
With the momentum going their way, the Active Smashers had a 6-1 lead in the fifth set courtesy of three consecutive errors from the Tamaraws.
Systema then built an eight-point lead, 14-6, but the Tamaraws had a minor surge to come close to as 14-9.
Christopher Antonio, who finished with 18 points, then laid down the law with a blurring through the block strike that put the Systema win-loss card at 1-1.
Laniog said that he does not have to motivate the players as these are veterans that went through the college ranks.
“We are not in high school or college anymore, let’s get the job done,” Laniog said.
John Depante added nine points while Patrick Rojas contributed eight for the Active Smashers.
Greg Dolor had 12 points for the 0-1 Tamaraws.
RELATED STORY
PLDT blows lead, survives Systema to win 1st men’s PSL title