Adamson-Davies Paint gained a share of the top spot in Group C after taking down St. Gerrard Construction-Benilde in four sets, 39-37, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18, in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at the Paco Arena.
Despite missing head coach George Pascua, the Soaring Falcons still managed to secure its third consecutive victory which put them at a tie with powerhouse Cignal at the number one seat with identical 3-0 records.
Pascua is set to miss the rest of the Spikers’ Turf as he is currently in New Jersey, USA to conduct and attend a coaching clinic. He will be back in the country in January.
“Actually, pinagensayuhan naman namin ‘yan. Kung mapapansin mo wala si coach George (Pascua), kung ano yung binilin niya yun naman ang ginawa namin eh. Na yung endurance ng player kailangan namin palakasin,” said Adamson assistant coach Fritz Santos.
Adamson pulled away late in the fourth set and established a seven-point advantage after James Marasigan committed a net fault, which was followed by an off the block hit from Francis Casas that put them at match point, 24-17.
Casas’ attack then sailed out before Marc Paulino’s cross-court hit finally handed Adamson the win after two hours and seven minutes of action.
Casas paced the Soaring Falcons with 17 points on 15 attacks and two blocks. John Gay added 16 points and 10 excellent receptions while Jude Aguilar chipped in 16 points as well on 13 attacks, two aces, and one block.
On the other hand, Arnel Aguilar led the Blazing Builders, who slid to 1-1 tied with Saints and Lattes-Letran at the third spot, with 18 points and 13 excellent digs while Jacob Herrera had 16 markers on 13 attacks and three kill blocks.
Adamson will face off against Saints and Lattes-Letran on Sunday, 11:00 a.m. while Benilde will face the same squad on Wednesday, 5:00 p.m.
