Greg Dolor delivered his best performance as PGJC-Navy rose back from the dead to smear the D’Navigators’ finals aspirations in five sets, 18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 20-18, in the semifinals of the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference, Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Dolor erupted for 30 points on 26 attacks, three blocks, and one ace to help the already-eliminated Sealions end the round-robin semifinals on a winning note with a 1-2 card, tied with their victims.
“Sabi ko naman sa kanila, nothing to lose naman na basta lumaban lang. Manalo o matalo, ang importante nandoon yung goal nila na positibo pa rin na kayang manalo sa kalaban kahit two sets down na,” said Navy head coach George Pascua.
Down two sets to none, the Sealions stepped up their game and secured two consecutive tight victories in the third and fourth to extend the game.
The fifth frame was no different from the previous ones, with the D’Navigators taking a 14-11 advantage after an Edward Camposano cross-court attack. Navy, though, rallied back with Dolor unloading back-to-back off-the-block attacks to kick-start a 3-0 run which tied the game at 14-all.
Eventually, after trading hits with the D’Navigators, the Sealions found their opening with Omar Lioc scoring off-the-block and Francis Saura committing an attack error which sealed the game after two hours and 37 minutes of action.
“Pinlano namin ‘to, kailangan ‘wag kaming bibitaw sa pinagusapan namin. Yun lang naman ang motivation ko sa kanila,” added Pascua.
Joeven Dela Vega added 17 points, 16 of which came from attacks, while Lioc managed to get 15 points to go along with 12 excellent receptions and four excellent digs.
Louie Pudadero steered the offense with 22 excellent sets to go along with two points while Jack Kalingking anchored the defense with 19 excellent receptions and 15 excellent digs across his name.
On the other hand, the D’Navigators, who opened the semis with a stunning win over Criss Cross, lost their last two games to cap off the elimination round with a 1-2 card.
Despite the loss, the D’Navigators still have a shot at making it to the finale if Criss Cross loses in straight or four sets against Cignal later in the day.
Camposano led the way with 23 points and 18 excellent receptions while Saura registered 21 points. Rash Nursiddik, who came up big early in the fifth, had 14 markers.
