After almost letting the match slip away in the fourth set, the Iriga-Navy Oragons clung on for their first win of the PVL Open Conference, quelling the Adamson-Akari Lady Falcons, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-11, at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Iriga had two shots at match point, 24-22, in the fourth set, before Adamson rallied behind May Roque and Chiara Permentilla to score the next four points and force a decider.
Battling visible signs of fatigue, the veteran Oragons toughed out a see-saw fifth set and guided Iriga from a 10-all stall to an insurmountable 14-10 lead.
“Siguro nga lumabas na din ‘yung experience ng nga player ko, kasi nga medyo bata ‘yung mga kalaban namin,” said Iriga head coach Egay Rusit. “Kumapit lang kami sa depensa din talaga nung dulo kahit talagang pagod na ‘yung mga players namin.”
Grazielle Bombita topped Iriga with 21 points, while Nene Bautista added 18. Iriga-Navy finished the first round at 1-6.
Fil-Italian winger Permentilla managed 21 points for the Lady Falcons, while their leading scorer Bernadette Flora added 16.
The Lady Falcons lost their second match in five sets and their seventh in total.
The Scores
Iriga-Navy (3) – Bombita 21, Bautista 18, Bunag 15, Eguia 12, Acuna 11, Cabriana 4, Amaro 0, Martinez 0, Ramas 0, Agno (L), Ticar (L)
Adamson-Akari (2) – Permentilla 21, Flora 16, Macaslang 9, Pinar 7, Ave 6, Roque 5, Uy 0, Yandoc 0, Ponce (L)
