AMC-Cotabato survived the tough challenge of Philippine Army in four sets, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24, Wednesday in the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at Paco Arena in Manila.
Jau Umandal was at the forefront anew with 17 points scattered through 13 attacks, three blocks, and a service ace laced with 11 excellent receptions. He pushed Cotabato to league-leading 2-0 alongside Imus-Ivy Tuason Photography and Iloilo.
But AMC head coach Odjie Mamon was not happy with the way his team committed 36 errors.
“We were so erratic at sa sobrang dami ng errors, nafu-frustrate na kami,” shared Mamon.
Knotted at 23 in the second set, Kevin Liberato’s off-the-block attack – paired with Umandal’s attempt that went wide – gave the Troopers the equalizer.
Army threatened to repeat in the third only to be denied by Edward Camposano, Umandal, and Madz Gampong, who turned a 17-19 hole into a 25-22 win for Cotabato.
“Yung second set I failed to control, hindi ako masyadong nag-challenge, kasi may mga calls naman na sigurong winnable kung nag-challenge. Kaya lang, hinayaan ko na rin,” added Mamon as he took the blame in the second period letdown.
With AMC at match point, 24-22, Troopers Benjaylo Labide and PJ Rojas came up with back-to-back clutch hits to force a deuce.
But Umandal hammered a 1-2 backrow kill followed by Fauzi Ismail’s off-the-block hammer to bag the victory.
Camposano added 12 points for AMC. Meanwhile, Gampong (8), Ismail (7), Lloyd Josafat (6), and Rex Intal (6) all chipped in as well.
Labide and Rojas chalked up 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Troopers, who slid to 1-1.
Cotabato will aim for 3-0 next Wednesday against Santa Rosa at 5:30 PM. Earlier that day, Army will face Vanguard.
