AEP Cabstars will have an extra weapon when they face undefeated Criss Cross in the second round of the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
In their first-round clash on March 1, the King Crunchers handed AEP a 25-20, 29-27, 25-15 sweep, a game in which the Cabstars were still without newly-acquired spiker Jared Schnake.
Schnake, a former Cignal player, joined the Cabuyao-based squad on March 6 for their match against Savouge Aesthetics and has since proven to be a key contributor to the team’s campaign in the season-opening conference organized by Sports Vision.
The Filipino-American wing spiker from UC Merced, California, scored in double digits in his first three games with AEP—registering 10 points in his debut, a 22-25, 21-25, 16-25 straight-sets loss to Savouge. He then tallied 15 points in a 25-20, 25-20, 25-21 win over 3B and followed it with 14 points in a 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of VNS Always Bright Laticrete on Friday at the Filoil Centre.
Against Criss Cross on Wednesday, Schnake aims to be the X-factor who hands the King Crunchers their first defeat of the conference.
(C) Spikers Turf Images
“I’ll just play my part for the team. I’m excited to play Criss Cross, they haven’t lost at all, so let’s see if we can give them their first loss,” said Schnake.
Head coach Kitty Antiporta is optimistic about his team’s chances with Schnake now in the fold.
“Malaking addition sa amin si Jared in terms of attacking and blockings kasi yun yung naging problema namin against Criss Cross nung first round. Yung opposite nila talagang namihasa doon sa atake nila. Sana mapaganda kasi malalaki ang Criss Cross, eh, so kailangan din namin ng malalaking players. Hopefully makatulong sa amin si Jared,” said Antiporta.
Despite his scoring exploits, Schnake insists he hasn’t reached his peak form yet, having just returned to action two weeks ago.
The 6-foot-1 hitter had planned to take a break this conference but was drawn back to volleyball, making it an easy decision to join AEP, especially since five former Cignal teammates—Jay Rack Dela Noche, EJ Casaña, Vince Abrot, Nas Gwaza, and Vince Lorenzo—are already with the team.
“I was just gonna take a break for a little bit for this conference, but I was like, I miss volleyball, so I came back, well, my old teammates are on this team, so it’s easy to come back,” said Schnake.
