The Philippine Air Force Airmen swept fellow semifinals team IEM Volley Masters in straight sets, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23. However, the Airmen needed to dig deep in the last two sets that caused a concern for Air Force head coach Rhovyl Verayo.
Rodolfo Labrador led the Airmen with 13 markers, 11 coming from kills and two coming from rejections. Former EAC General Howard Mojica and NU Bulldogs standout Fauzi Ismail added 11 and 10 markers respectively.
“Consistency ang hinahanap pa namin,” coach Verayo said about the game. “Makikita naman na ang laki ng lamang namin nung first set tapos nung second set naging close fight na naman.”
After breezing past the Volley Masters in the opening stanza, both teams figured in a tight second set.
The set was tied at 22-all before a service ace by Salvador Timbal gave IEM the solitary point lead. However an error by Timbal and an ace by Nino Jerus gave the Airmen the advantage. An erroneous service by Jerus tied the game once more but a bad set by Manolo Refugia led to an IEM error while an emphatic kill by Fauzi Ismail gave the Airmen the second set.
“Nung third set lumamang na kami ng anim tapos nahabol na naman to 23-all. Sana maging consistent sila all throughout,” Verayo added.
Bad reception by IEM led to an early 11-5 lead for Air Force in the third canto. Behind Warren Pirante, the Volley Masters were able to rally back. Errors by the Air men eventually tied the game at 23-all. Eden Canlas was able to stop the Air Force bleeding while a block by Pirante went outside to give the Airmen the win.
Looking forward to the next round, Verayo is hoping to solve the inconsistencies the team is experiencing the past few games.
“Mahabahaba preparation namin as a team. Unti-unti na kaming nabubuo,” he said as the Mojica and the team’s rookies are slowly fitting into his system. “Hinahabol namin talaga yung mag-gel sila. Hindi sila puwedeng maging reactionary, yung ginagawa namin dapat nababasa na nila.”
No Volley Master scored in double-figures although nine IEM players were able to chip-in points. Karl Dela Calzada led the Volley Masters with eight markers, all coming from kills.
As a team, IEM committed 26 errors.
The semifinals is set to begin on Wednesday, June 29 at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City. The pairings have yet to be released as of publishing.
The Scores:
Air Force (3) – Labrador 13, Mojica 11, Ismail 10, Fuentes 8, Malabanan 4, Jerus 4, De Ocampo 2, Tolentino 1, Avila 0, Lopez 0, Chavez (L), Pangan (L).
IEM (0) – Dela Calzada 8, Canlas J. 7, Pirante 6, Jimenez 5, Canlas E. 3, Gatdula 2, Conde 2, Timbal 1, Ramos 0, Lozada 0, Refugia 0, Ramos (L), Melgar (L).
