Bryan Bagunas and his Oita Miyoshi shocked the Michał Kubiak-less Panasonic in a thriller, 35-33, 21-25, 26-24, 18-25, 16-14, in the 2021-22 V.League Division 1 men’s tournament, Saturday at the Panasonic Arena.
The 6-foot-5 Filipino open hitter went for a game-high 28 points on 25 attacks, two blocks, and a service ace. He also made 25 of his 40 spiking attempts, a high 62.5 percent.
The two-time V.League MVP Kubiak was badly missed as the Panthers did not have their closer down the stretch. Kota Yamada finished them in the decider with a service ace, 16-14.
Emerson Rodriguez, after playing just one set in Weisse Adler’s last game, netted 21 points. Meanwhile, Yamada had a complete game of 14 attacks, three aces, and two blocks for 19 points.
Oita Miyoshi rose to 4-13, already surpassing last season’s win total as it finished at 3-33.
The victory also marked the first time this season that Bagunas’ Weisse Adler, Marck Espejo’s FC Tokyo, and Jaja Santiago’s Saitama all won on the same day.
Tatsunora Otsuki stepped up for Kubiak with 20 points, while Issei Otake had 17 points.
Kunihiro Shimizu only played in the fourth and fifth sets but still made 13 points. Kenyu Nakamoto got 12 points.
The Panthers slipped to 10-7, just outside of the top three.
Oita Miyoshi will look to make it three wins in a row tomorrow when it faces Panasonic anew at 1:00 PM at the same venue.
