ClearSkiiin survived a stunning fightback from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, regaining its footing in the deciding set to escape with a hard-earned five-set victory, 25-12, 25-14, 24-26, 14-25, 15-19, and preserve its unbeaten record in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Tuesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
After dominating the opening two sets, the UV Smashers suddenly found themselves on the back foot as the Cavaliers, powered by Ranran Abdilla and Herald Domingo, turned the tide in the next two frames to force a deciding set.
ClearSkiiin, however, found a timely boost with the return of starting setter Klint Mateo, who had rolled his left ankle after landing on Abdilla’s foot in the third set. Mateo returned in the decider and helped stabilize the offense, steering the UV Smashers toward the two-hour victory.
(C) Spikers Turf images
“I mean, you said it right there. AFP’s got a ton of veterans, and much respect to them. We obviously had a plan going in, and what was kind of cool, I think, on their part is that they changed their plan going into sets three and four,” said UV Smashers head coach Joe Bangit.
“A lot of credit goes to them. They played super fast, they had a lot more of the chance points, I thought, and it took us off our game a little bit,” he added.
ClearSkiiin came out firing in the deciding set, racing to a 5-0 lead and immediately putting the Cavaliers on the defensive. Despite AFP’s attempts to mount another comeback, the UV Smashers kept their composure and protected their advantage.
KC Andrade scored off a quick attack from Renzel Antonio, while Pol Salvador was denied by a block to put ClearSkiiin at match point. Antonio, however, was stuffed on the ensuing play, allowing the Cavaliers to save one match point.
JM Ronquillo eventually put an end to AFP’s resistance with an emphatic block on Abdilla, sealing the hard-earned victory for the UV Smashers.
(C) Spikers Turf images
Nas Gwaza led ClearSkiiin with 16 points on 10 attacks, five blocks, and one ace, while Antonio chipped in 14 points and 10 excellent receptions.
Jay Rack De La Noche added 12 points, Loisa Gamban contributed 11, while Angela Gayud and Ronquillo finished with nine markers apiece.
Kim Dayandante dished out 16 excellent sets off the bench, while Mateo recorded 12 excellent sets despite his injury. Bhim Diones anchored the floor defense with 16 excellent digs.
ClearSkiiin will look to extend its winning streak to six games when it takes on Far Eastern University-DN Steel on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Meanwhile, AFP remained winless, absorbing its fifth consecutive defeat to drop to 0-5 in the standings.
Abdilla paced the Cavaliers with 17 points, while Domingo added 13. Salvador and James Buytrago chipped in 11 points apiece.
AFP will look to snap its losing streak when it faces Alpha Insurance on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the Philsports Arena.
