Poy Colinares delivered his best performance yet for Criss Cross in a highly anticipated showdown against his former team.
The rookie middle blocker tallied 10 points, including four blocks, to help the King Crunchers sweep the UST-Gameville Golden Spikers, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21, on Friday and remain unbeaten in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference.
Asked about facing his collegiate team, Colinares admitted he had been eagerly looking forward to the matchup and had hoped for UST to qualify for the Spikers’ Turf.
Only the champion and runner-up of the 2025 V-League Collegiate Challenge earned spots in the Invitational Conference, organized by Sports Vision with support from Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
Although the Golden Spikers finished third in the V-League, silver medalists De La Salle Green Spikers opted out for academic reasons, opening the door for UST.
“Honestly, gusto ko talaga kalaro ang UST eh,” said the former Golden Spiker.
“Nung nasa V-League sila, pinagpi-pray ko talaga na mag-qualify sila dito sa Spikers’ Turf, saka dagdag din sa exposure ng UST team din ‘yung pagsali dito,” Colinares added.
“Halos lahat sila ka-close ko, na-excite lang ako kasi na-miss ko rin silang kalaro.”
(C) Spikers Turf Images
Criss Cross and Cignal have secured the semis spots while Savouge, UST-Gameville, and Alpha Insurance fight for the remaining two slots.
Despite entering as a replacement team, the Golden Spikers are just one win away from a semifinals berth, where guest teams Kindai University (Japan) and ProVolley Academy (Australia) are expected to raise the level of competition.
Against UST, Colinares demonstrated just how much the team has evolved since he last played for them.
“Ngayon, sobrang laki ng pinagbago ng sistema ng UST. Kumbaga, consistent sila ngayon. Kung maglalaban yung team namin last year saka yung team nila ngayon, for sure tatalunin nila yung team namin last year,” he said.
“Naniniwala ako sa coaching staff ng UST kung ano yung programang ini-implement nila magiging successful.”
Games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, as well as on the Pilipinas Live app, which also offers video-on-demand. Matches will also be streamed via spikersturf.ph.
