Barely used in their first two games, Vince Nadera stepped up off the bench as Alpha Insurance survived Far Eastern University-DN Steel in a five-set thriller, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 18-15, for a gritty bounce-back win in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Tournament, Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Nadera, one of the few bright spots in the Protectors’ run during the last Open Conference, saw limited minutes in their opening game win over Savouge and sat out their five-set loss to Cignal entirely.
But with spark plug JJ Javelona out due to personal reasons, Alpha Insurance head coach Mike Santos turned to Nadera in the second set to replace the struggling Francis Casas — and he delivered.
The former FEU standout erupted for a game-high 23 points, all from attacks, including the final two kills that sealed the come-from-behind victory after an hour and 11 minutes of action against his alma mater.
“Sobrang happy na ganun ‘yung resulta ng laro,” said Nadera. “Maganda ‘yung napakita ko and at the same time, nakuha namin ‘yung panalo. Napakalaking bagay nun sa amin as a team.”
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The Protectors saved two match points before Nadera fired a cross-court hit to tie the game at 15-all. Luis Miguel’s down-the-line attempt then went out, giving Alpha Insurance a 16-15 lead in the extended fifth set.
Lirick Mendoza kept the Tamaraws alive with a huge block on Rocky Motol, but Nadera was determined to finish the job. He hammered back-to-back off-the-block hits to close out the match, lifting the Protectors to their second win for a 2-1 record in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
“First of all, natutuwa ako kasi from loss, nakabawi kami ngayon,” said Santos, referring to their five-set heartbreak against the Super Spikers last Wednesday. “Yun naman ang goal ko rin, kahit sinong makatapat namin, it’s going to be a challenge for them.”
“Kasi nagtatrabaho rin naman kami. Mahirap, mahirap din talunin ang FEU dahil solid din na team ‘yan. Galing pa sa champion sa V-League, so ‘yung sistema niyan talagang matibay,” he added.
Motol tallied 20 points built on 18 attacks and two blocks, on top of 29 excellent receptions, while Barbie San Andres added 16 points and eight excellent digs as Alpha Insurance overcame a 1-2 set deficit to secure the win.
With the victory, the Protectors already matched their total win output from their debut conference — doing so in just their third game of the Invitationals supported by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
Alpha Insurance looks to sustain its momentum as it seeks its first back-to-back wins against University of Santo Tomas-Gameville on Friday, 4:00 PM, at the Paco Arena.
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Meanwhile, FEU, coming off a win last Friday against PGJC-Navy, absorbed its second loss to fall to a 1-2 record.
Miguel paced the Tamaraws with 17 points, all from attacks, while Dryx Saavedra and Charles Absin added 13 markers apiece. Mikko Espartero and Mendoza chipped in 10 points each.
Games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, with video-on-demand access available on the Pilipinas Live app. Matches are also streamed on spikersturf.ph.
