It was fourth time’s the charm for the Bounty Fresh Soaring Griffins as they finally took a five set match, squeaking past the Philippine Navy Sailors, 20-25, 25-14, 17-25, 25-22, 19-17 in their final match of the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Trading set wins, Philippine Navy had momentum in the fifth set, as winger Roldan Medino smashed crucial points to give Navy a steady two-point lead. Trailing 12-14, Bounty Fresh found a savior in former Mapua Cardinal Pemi Bagalay, who crushed an attack past two blockers, then served an ace to force a deuce. Thanks to smart hitting from Medino, and timely contributions from their middles, Navy maintained their advantage but could not get the match-winning point. Bounty Fresh found an opening after Navy team captain Alvin Cacayuran swiped an attack wide, handing advantage to the Soaring Griffins, 18-17. On the following point, Bounty Fresh’s defense mustered a great defensive play, setting up Bagalay’s game-winning smash.
“We just tried to learn as much as we can from our previous five-set matches,” said Bounty Fresh assistant coach JP De Guzman. Bounty Fresh had surrendered five-set decisions to three of the league’s top teams — Cignal HD, Air Force, and IEM.
“We’re happy with how the team performed pa rin kasi halos two weeks lang ang time talaga namin to prepare,” De Guman continued. “A lot of our players came from different universities. Hopefully, we get invited back to the next conference.”
Bagalay torched the Navy defense for 20 points, 19 coming from attacks. Former University of Santo Tomas Tiger Spiker Romnick Rico added 13 markers.
Medino and Nur Amin Madsairi each provided 15 points for the Sailaros, while Alvin Cacayuran pitched in 13 points.
Bounty Fresh got ther first win of the season in their last match. Navy have come up winless in five matches.
The Scores:
Bounty Fresh (3) – Bagalay 20, Rico 13, Sioson 9, Apelar 7, David 6, Gacutan 5, Ortega 5, Manalang 4, Asia 2, Bauto (L)
Navy (2) – Madsairi 15, Medino 15, Cacayuran 13, Sapida 9, Rosete 9, Macalma 4, Palisoc 4, Encisa 0, Chua (L), Almario (L)
