After coming off the bench for Criss Cross’ past three games, Marck Espejo finally returned to the starting lineup and immediately made his presence felt on Friday night.
The King Crunchers, in a do-or-die situation, went to superstar Espejo as they crushed PGJC-Navy, 25-15, 25-16, 25-12 to stay in the running for a Finals spot in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference semis at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The 6-foot-3 well-travelled spiker delivered his best game of the season so far, dropping 17 points on an impressive 14-of-25 clip from spikes and three blocks. He also had nine excellent receptions out of his 17 attempts.
Although he is still working on his fitness and form after a vacation before joining Criss Cross, Espejo shared that returning to the first six is a boost.
“Yun nga nakabalik na ako sa starting six. Hindi pa naman ako physically ready pero alam ko kung hanggang saan yung limit ko at ibibigay ko yung best ko para sa team na ito,” said the three-time league MVP.
Espejo missed the first four games of the conference for the King Crunchers as he was still finishing his season with eventual Korean V-League champions Incheon Korean Air Jumbos.
(C) Joaqui Flores/Spikers Turf
His first match fell on April 14 coincidentally in the much-anticipated face-off against Cignal, where they lost in five sets.
He started that match and the next game, but found himself reduced to a bench player in their next three matches – including their first semis game against the D’Navigators.
Despite being a second-stringer, Espejo still led the way for Criss Cross against the D’Navigators with 15 points but they still fell short.
His readiness to perform regardless of the position he’s assigned to is just a sign of the professionalism that the three-time Spikers’ Turf Finals MVP possesses.
“Kung ano yung ibigay nila sa akin na role, kahit hanggang saan ko kaya magcontribute gagawin ko talaga hanggang dulo,” said Espejo.
“Sa amin naman from 1 to 14 lahat naman kayang magcontribute kailangan lang talaga ng playing time. Pag nabigyan talaga sila lahat sila nagsstep up at lahat nagpeperform,” he continued.
Now with an even 1-1 record, Espejo and the King Crunchers turn their attention to the HD Spikers for the final match of the round-robin semis with a finals berth at stake.
The game is on Sunday at 12:00 PM.
