PGJC-Navy’s Jao Umandal rises for a hit. –SPIKERS TURF PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–PGJC-Navy ended Santa Rosa City’s semifinals’ hopes with a 25-12, 25-11, 25-22 victory to close the elimination round of the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on a high note on Tuesday at Paco Arena.
Jao Umandal came through for the Sealions, who are already qualified for the next round, in the third set to quell the Lions’ bid to extend the match, finishing the single-round robin qualifier with a 5-1 record.
“We’re happy with the win. We really prepared hard for this and it primed us for the semis battle,” said Navy coach Cecil Cruzad, whose wards brace for a grind against the unbeaten National U-Sta. Elena and Cignal HD in the next round, which will also be played in a round-robin format.
Umandal finished 12 points in the win for Navy with Greg Dolor matching his output. Jemmy Entig and Peter Quiel each pumped in eight points.
EJ Casana produced 23 excellent sets, feeding his middles to a string of points that spiked their romp in the first two set.
“It’s a big morale boost as we head to the semis,” said Umandal. “It’s a big motivation for us to finish at 5-1. But it’s a step-by-step process, there’s no time to relax, and we have to work doubly hard in training.”
Navy also finished with five kill blocks against Santa Rosa’s two while pouncing on the youn Lions’ miscues to score 24 points while yielding 17 errors.
Jade Disquitado finished with 17 points but failed to draw solid backup with the next best Santa Rosa scorer chipping in four points, courtesy of Kris Hernandez.
Santa Rosa City, composed of high schoolers from Laguna, wound up with a 1-5 card.