Criss Cross keeps run intact, whips Savogue in Spikers’ Turf

Criss Cross’ Adrian Villados.– Photo from Spikers’ Turf

Criss Cross has learned to live with pressure—and play right through it.

Facing the weight of expectations as the league’s lone unbeaten squad, the King Crunchers leaned on poise and teamwork to sweep Savouge, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 and stretch their winning run to five in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Wednesday at Paco Arena.

Veteran Jude Garcia delivered a steady 13-point outing, but it was rookie Noel Kampton who made the biggest splash. The former La Salle standout unloaded 12 points—seven attacks, three aces and a block—while showing off his floor game with six receptions and five digs.

“It’s definitely pressure,” Kampton admitted in Filipino. “Being unbeaten means all eyes are on us—teams, players, fans. Everyone’s expecting something.”

But the 20-year-old wasn’t fazed.

“For me, we just focus on the next match. The standings are there, sure, but we don’t carry 5-0 into the next game. We just show up ready to win,” he added.

Kampton sparked a crucial 4-0 run late in the third set, firing three aces to turn a tight 17-15 edge into a comfortable 21-15 lead.

Next games

Savouge fought back as Dan Nicholas led a quick 4-0 counter that trimmed the gap, but playmaker Adrian Villados answered with a crafty drop, and a Savouge net violation made it 23-19. Marck Espejo eventually closed the door with a cross-court kill to seal the 82-minute win.

Villados kept the offense flowing with 20 excellent sets and chipped in three points, while Jaron Requinton added nine points and 10 receptions. Rookie Edlyn Colinares also made noise at the net with eight points, including three blocks.

Criss Cross faces UST-Gameville on Sunday, aiming to stay perfect. Savouge, which dropped to 2-2, gets a shot at redemption against PGJC-Navy.

For Savouge, Giles Torres scored 10 points while Reymark Betco, hot in their last two wins, was held to just nine.

Meanwhile, Cignal bounced back with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-21 victory over the winless PGJC-Navy to improve to a 3-1 record

Jay Rack De La Noche spearheaded the Super Spikers with 10 points. Filipino-American hot shotJared Schnake impressed in his first start, tallying six points and 14 excellent receptions. Skipper JP Bugaoan and Lloyd Josafat chipped in six points apiece, while Steven Rotter and Louie Ramirez contributed five each.

“Actually, we could really feel their body language after the loss to Criss Cross, it showed even during training. I just told them that we should use that as motivation going into this game,” said Cignal coach Dexter Clamor.  “Our performance today still wasn’t that good. There are a lot of things we need to improve and polish. It’s really about refining our system.”

Cignal looks to build momentum when it faces Far Eastern University-DN Steel on Friday at 6 p.m., still at Paco Arena.

Navy remained winless in four games despite Joeven Dela Vega’s best game of 13 points since recovering from a lung illness.

Navy and Savouge collide also on Sunday, 1 p.m.