Cignal HD Spikers’ Jau Umandal during a Spikers’ Turf game. –SPIKERS TURF PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Defending champion Cignal faced a formidable challenge from Savouge Aesthetics but still pulled through with a 25-15, 27-25, 25-23 victory in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Wednesday night at Philsports Arena.
Jau Umandal came up big for the HD Spikers anew, finishing with 23 points, all on attacks, and showcased his defensive skills, coming through with 10 excellent receptions to power the defending champions to their third straight victory and continued hold of the lead.
The Spin Doctors missed a couple of chances in a tense-filled endgame in the extended second set and put up a valiant fight in the third, overcoming a three-point deficit before Lorenz Senoron hammered a cross-court attack that tied the game at 23.
SCHEDULE: 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference
But JP Bugaoan scored on back-to-back plays to frustrate the Spin Doctors and secure the win.
Earlier, Cignal banked on Umandal, who shattered a 25-all count with imposing attacks to give the HD Spikers a commanding 2-0 advantage.
“It’s not the performance na gusto namin mangyari for this game. Hiindi kami satisfied sa nagiging performance namin kasi alam namin na may ibubuga pa, may mas ipapakita pa. Kahit na panalo kami, lagi pa rin kaming naghahanap ng room for improvement,” said Cignal coach Dexter Clamor.
Bugaoan added 11 points for Cignal in the one-hour, 24-minute encounter while Lloyd Josafat and Mark Calado chipped in five points each.
READ: Spikers’ Turf: Umandal, Cignal cruise to second straight win
Cignal tries to extend its roll to four when it faces Air Force on Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Senoron led the way for the Spin Doctors with 13 points on 13 attacks and added 13 excellent receptions and five excellent digs for Savouge, which slipped to 1-1.
Navy zooms to solo second
PGJC-Navy Sealions in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
Meanwhile, PGJC-Navy pounced on Maverick’s shaky windup in the third set as it hammered out a 25-20, 25-11, 25-20 victory to seize the solo second place with an improved 2-1 card.
The Sealions broke away from a tight 18-all count by cashing in on the Hard Hitters’ three miscues then Marvin Villanueva, Peter Quiel, and John Jacob combined in a decisive 4-1 closing run to secure the win in one hour and 21 minutes of play.
“So far, so good. Ang importante nananalo kahit anong set, yun naman ang sabi ko sa kanila eh,” said Navy head coach George Pascua.
Navy’s Jeffrey Alicando also committed a service error after the Sealions pulled ahead at 21-18, but Villanueva, Quiel, and Jacob stepped up with clutch hits to frustrate the Hard Hitters.
“Confident naman ako na kaya nilang kumapit sa mga ganung crucial moments (third set) kasi nga iniensayo namin yung mga ganung scenario. ‘Di na ako nagduda sa kanila na ‘di namin mao-overcome,” added Pascua.
Joeven Dela Vega again starred for Navy with 15 points on 13 attacks, an ace and a block, while Jacob and Quiel chipped in 10 points each with the latter also coming through with three kill blocks in the victory.
Louie Pudedera dished out a 14-excellent set performance to help anchor the Sealions’ offense while Jack Kailngking registered 21 excellent receptions and 11 excellent digs.
Razzel Palisoc scored seven points while Jerome Cordez finished with six markers for Maverick, which slipped to 0-2 in a tie with RichMarc Sports 3B.