The Sta. Elena Wrecking Balls clawed their way back from two sets down to get their second win of the conference against the still winless Bounty Fresh Soaring Griffins, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-13, 15-11, in the third season of the Spikers’ Turf, today at the Blue Eagle Gym in Katipunan.
The Griffins seemed to be in control of the game taking the first two sets behind the heroics of Jeric Gacutan, who scored 20 points, 19 of which came from attacks.
They were still leading in the third, 8-3, when the Wrecking Balls started mounting a comeback, led by team captain Rocky Honrade, who scored eight markers, five of which came from attacks and three from blocks.
Puto Dela Vega, despite only scoring three points, also provided energy and became the spark off the bench for Sta. Elena head coach Arnold Laniog.
“Sinabihan ko si Puto na mag-ready siya, ipapasok ko siya ng third set para maging neutralizer sa loob,” said Laniog. “Sabi ko ‘maging kwela ka lang sa loob, mag-angas kapag nakapuntos para ganahan ‘yung iba.’ Buti naman nag-click. Nahawaan niya ‘yung iba.”
They stole the third set with renewed energy, 25-21. Riding off the shifting momentum, the Wrecking Balls topped Bounty Fresh with a 12-3 rampage, to end the fourth set, 25-13.
The Griffins showed they still had some fight left in them in the final set, keeping pace with Sta. Elenea behind timely points from Geuel Asia and Jason Sarabia who scored 7 and 13, respectively, to tie the game, 9-9.
The fightback proved to be insufficient for Bounty Fresh, as Sta. Elena closed the set and the match with a 6-1 run highlighted by off-the-block hits by their top scorers Joven Camaganakan and Berlin Paglinawan who both scored totals of 12.
Peter Torres also had 12 markers, 10 of which came from attacks and two from blocks.
“Malaking bagay talaga pag naging consistent ‘yang tatlong players na ‘yan, tapos ‘yung iba backup lang,” said Laniog of the triumvirate Camaganakan, Paglinawan and Torres.
The Scores:
Sta. Elena (3) – Camaganakan 12, Torres 12, Paglinawan 12, Honrade 8, Onia 8, Dela Vega 3, Frey 2, Relata 2, Abdulwahab 0, Sarmiento 0, Arbasto 0, Mangaring (L)
Bounty Fresh (2) – Gacutan 20, Sarabia 13, David 11, Bagalay 11, Asia 7, Ocampo 6, Rico 3, Sioson 1, Ortega 0, Manalang 0, Apostol (L)
