Savouge Aesthetics overcame a sluggish start to dispatch VNS in four sets, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16, for a bounce-back victory in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Friday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Spin Doctors appeared flat in the opening frame, still reeling from a straight-sets defeat to the Criss Cross King Crunchers — a lapse that the young Griffins quickly exploited.
Head coach Sydney Calderon reminded his team to return to its winning form, a call that sparked Savouge’s turnaround in the succeeding sets. The win improved their record to 3-2 in the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
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“Lahat kasi emotional sa pagkatalo namin sa Criss Cross, kasi na-sweep kami so understandable. Pero sabi ko nga sa kanila, kapag nag-dwell tayo doon hindi tayo makakapag-move forward,” said Calderon.
“Slow start talaga kanina pero nabuhay naman nung sabi ko kumuha muna ng momentum nung second set tapos dire-diretso na.”
Clinging to a slim 15-13 lead in the fourth set, the Spin Doctors unleashed eight unanswered points behind Shawie Caritativo, Giles Torres, and Lorenz Señoron to seal the win after one hour and 52 minutes.
Caritativo led Savouge with 17 points built on 13 spikes, three aces, and a block, while also tallying 16-of-19 excellent receptions and five digs.
Middle blocker Torres also delivered 17 points, highlighted by five blocks, while Mark Calado and Reymark Betco added 16 and 10 markers, respectively.
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On the other side, Axel Book and RK Medino paced the Griffins with 16 points apiece. Book also notched 17 excellent receptions, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent VNS from falling to 0-4.
15-year-old Howard Guerra had a good showing, tossing 20 excellent sets while getting three points.
Both squads return to action on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan, with Savouge facing PGJC-Navy at 1:00 PM, followed by VNS’ clash against FEU-DN Steel at 3:00 PM.
All games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, and streamed on the Pilipinas Live app, which also offers video-on-demand access, as well as on spikersturf.ph.
