Savouge Aesthetics weathered a late University of Santo Tomas–Gameville surge in the fourth set before delivering the finishing blows to secure a hard-fought 25-27, 25-16, 25-22, 25-21 victory in the opening round of the round-robin semifinals of the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference, Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In a match that threatened to go the distance — a fitting spectacle for the league’s first-ever outing at the Big Dome — the Spin Doctors relied on the steady hands of Madz Gampong and Giles Torres to finally put away the Golden Spikers.
UST–Gameville, despite missing star players Josh Ybañez, Al-Bukharie Sali, JJ Macam, and head coach Odjie Mamon, showed the same grit it displayed in the final game of the eliminations.
The team mounted an 8-3 surge that cut a 12-18 deficit to just 20-21 in a late attempt to force a fifth set.
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Gampong then caught fire and produced a personal 3-0 run that gave Savouge match point at 24-20. Still, Sherwin Umandal kept the Golden Spikers alive with an off-the-block hit.
However, Torres slammed the door shut with a towering block on Umandal, securing the Spin Doctors’ first win in the six-team semifinals of the tournament organized by Sports Vision and supported by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, Arena Plus, and Black Mamba.
“Masaya kasi ‘yun ‘yung goal namin. We want to start our round-robin semifinals na dapat manalo kami para dire-diretso ‘yung momentum namin,” said Savouge head coach Sydney Calderon after the win.
“Masaya ako kasi for the past three days, talagang ‘yung mga players nagpagod talaga sa training, so parang lumabas siya — lumabas lahat ng pinag-trainingan namin.”
Mark Calado led the Spin Doctors’ offense with 20 points on 17 attacks and three blocks, while Torres contributed 17 points on nine attacks, six blocks, and two aces.
Sherwin Caritativo added 10 points and 14 excellent receptions, and Gampong chipped in seven points and seven excellent digs off the bench. He filled in for Reymark Betco, who played only in the first set while managing a right ankle injury sustained in the last elimination game.
Savouge will face ProVolley Academy of Australia on Saturday at 1:00 PM at the Filoil EcoOil Centre, seeking a second consecutive win.
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Meanwhile, UST–Gameville’s error woes carried over from the eliminations, committing a total of 34 miscues in nearly two hours of play.
Gboy De Vega topped the Golden Spikers with 18 points on 15 attacks, two kill blocks, and one ace, along with 24 excellent receptions. Andrei Delicana and Umandal added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
UST–Gameville will look to bounce back against defending champion Cignal, whom they defeated in the eliminations, on Saturday at 5:00 PM.
Games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, with video-on-demand access via the Pilipinas Live app. Matches are also streamed on spikersturf.ph.
