PGJC-Navy cruised to a straight-set victory over the struggling VNS, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20, to secure its second consecutive win in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference, Wednesday, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The dominant performance against the young Griffins allowed the Sealions to tie Cignal at third place in the standings, both teams now holding identical 3-1 records.
“It’s a good game, maganda naman ‘yung pinakita ng mga players. Lumabas na ‘yung pinagensayuhan namin. Sinabi ko naman sa kanila na ‘di namin pwedeng baliwalain ‘yung kalaban ngayon,” said Navy head coach Mike Santos.
“Ayun nga, basta nilaban lang namin kung ano ‘yung meron. At the same time mabuti ‘yung mga players na pinapasok namin, nagpo-produce naman ng puntos,” he added.
Navy’s experience and excellent net defense limited VNS to just 27 attack points, while the Sealions registered 46. They also dominated the block game, finishing with a 9-3 advantage.
Joeven Dela Vega led Navy’s charge, scoring 14 points, including 12 attacks and two blocks. Team captain Greg Dolor contributed 12 points with 11 attacks and a kill block.
John Ashley Jacob, Nilo Jasmin, and Peter Quiel also stepped up, each scoring eight points in the win. Louie Pudadera orchestrated the offense with 18 excellent sets, while Jeremy Santos registered 18 excellent receptions and five excellent digs.
The Sealions will next face the undefeated La Salle-EcoOil (2-0) on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Meanwhile, VNS suffered its third consecutive loss, dropping to 1-4 in the standings. No player from the Griffins reached double digits in scoring, with Roderick Medino and CJ Segui leading with six and five points, respectively.
VNS will look to bounce back from its slump when they face winless Chichi DHTSI on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., also at Ynares.
