PGJC-Navy earned its third-straight win after denying VNS-One Alicia a semifinals spot, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21, in the penultimate elimination playdate of the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference, Saturday at the Paco Arena.
The Sealions rose to 4-1, tied with Cignal at second, while the Griffins are yet to clinch a seat in the semis at 2-3.
VNS-One Alicia will need to win against Army-Katinko on Tuesday, 2:30 pm, to enter the post-season, while a loss will drop them to the playoff for fourth seed.
“Sinabihan ko sila na ‘yung first ball gandahan para makaplay sila nang maganda so nakaadjust naman sila (after noong first set),” said PGJC-Navy head coach Cecille Cruzada.
“Noong first set kasi slow start talaga kumbaga kailangan gisingin ‘yung mga diwa ng bawat isa,” said Greg Dolor, who unleashed 17 points on 14 attacks and three blocks.
Ron Adviento’s solid kill block on Jao Umandal capped VNS-One Alicia’s 7-3 spurt to take the first frame, 25-19.
PGJC-Navy then broke away from a 9-all affair in the second salvo through the efforts of Umandal and company with the help of Griffins’ errors to level the match, 25-18.
And the Sealions, who shocked the HD Spikers last Tuesday, continued their upward rise in the third set, 25-17.
The Griffins pulled to within one in the fourth after Kevin Montemayor’s crosscourt spike, but PGJC-Navy responded with three straight points, punctuated by Ronniel Rosales’ block on Ben San Andres, 25-21.
Umandal ended with 16 points on 14 spikes and two blocks for the Sealions.
Middle blockers Rosales and Peter Quiel chimed in 11 and 10 points, respectively, with the latter chipping in four blocks.
Yoyong Mendoza and San Andres paced VNS-One Alicia with 12 points apiece, while Montemayor got 10.
PGJC-Navy will finish off its elims schedule at 11:30 am against Santa Rosa City.
