Touted as the biggest threat to Criss Cross’ title bid in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference, Savouge fell short of expectations when the two contenders finally faced off in the elimination round, offering little resistance in a matchup many thought would shake up the tournament.
The Spin Doctors suffered back-to-back losses to the King Crunchers — first a 25-23, 29-27, 25-17 defeat to close the first round, followed by a 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19 setback to open the second. The skid raised doubts about whether their early momentum was beginning to fade as the conference progressed.
Determined to steady the ship, veteran middle blocker JP Bugaoan rallied the squad. He urged his teammates to move past the setbacks and refocus on the bigger picture, emphasizing that the tournament was far from over.
(C) PVL Images
“Ang lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila pag natatalo is move forward, kasi nangyari na kung ano ‘yung nangyari,” said Bugaoan, one of the team’s newest additions alongside Louie Ramirez, Joeven Dela Vega, Kim Dayandante, and KC Andrade.
“Kung ano ‘yung next, ‘yun ‘yung kailangan namin isipin,” he added.
And move forward they did. The Spin Doctors responded with renewed intensity, dominating 3B in a straight-set rout, 25-8, 25-13, 25-13, to secure a spot in the round-robin semifinals on Wednesday at the Filoil Centre.
“Eager kami na makabawi kasi ‘yun nga, tough loss sa magkasunod na game namin sa Criss Cross. So gusto namin na pagdating ng bawat game namin is ‘yung intensity pataas ng pataas,” said the former Cignal star, who finished with 10 points in two sets against the Event Masters.
Bugaoan couldn’t feel prouder of how the team responded to the defeats, noting that the setbacks only fueled their drive and elevated their intensity heading into the final stretch of the eliminations.
“Yung morale ng team, mas naging eager na bumawi. So kada training namin talagang bakbakan, binibigay ‘yung 101-percent para makabawi sa mga game namin na natitira.”
