Santa Rosa bounced back from a previous five-set loss to the Iloilo D’Navigators by defeating National University-Archipelago in three sets, 26-24, 26-24, and 25-22, in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference, Wednesday held at the Paco Arena.
The Lions currently stand at a win-loss record of 4-5 with only one match remaining in the single-round qualifier among 11 teams. Still, they feel determined to finish strong in their otherwise blemished campaign.
Axel Book was the top scorer for the Laguna-based squad with 13 points, including crucial hits; followed by John Mendoza with nine points and Anrie Bakil and Harvey Quezada, who matched each other’s seven-point output.
While the first two sets could have gone either way, the City Lions proved steadier than the Builders with the former going 2-0 on the latter’s back-to-back miscues.
Despite NU’s control in the third set, Santa Rosa rallied back with seven straight points to grab a 19-16 lead, capped off by Book’s fiery blast. Although the Builders kept fighting back, the City Lions never relinquished the lead.
NU threatened at 21-23 on a Santa Rosa service error, and the Builders even pulled within one briefly. However, the City Lions contested the point and won the ball-in/out challenge to get match point.
NU saved a point on Santa Rosa’s net violation, but the City Lions sealed the deal on Jan Abanilla’s missed down-the-line hit. Santa Rosa coach Edu Lirio expressed pride in the team’s ability to bounce back from a loss and prove that they deserve a spot in the league, even though their chances of making it to the semifinals are slim.
Ahmad Abdul scored 12 points for the National U-Archipelago, with Rwenzmel Taguibolos contributing nine hits and Leo Ordiales and Vincent Estrada each scoring five points.
The Builders’ win-loss record fell to 1-6.
