Josh Ybañez and JJ Macam joined forces to lead University of Santo Tomas–Gameville’s bounce-back win over VNS in four sets, 25-19, 25-19, 26-28, 25-22, claiming their second victory in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Ybañez had earlier committed a costly attack error that extended the match to a fourth set. But he redeemed himself with a game-high 27 points — all from attacks — on top of 12 excellent digs.
The Golden Spikers vented their frustrations on the Griffins to improve to 2-1 in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
Macam, meanwhile, stepped up in the absence of GBoy De Vega, who missed the match due to personal reasons. He finished with 20 points built on 17 attacks, two blocks, and one ace, helping UST-Gameville return to the win column after a four-set loss to Savouge last Friday.
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“Masasabi ko lang kung bakit ganun ‘yung nilaro namin, siguro masyado kaming relaxed tapos hindi namin naiiisip na papalag talaga ‘yung kalaban namin ngayon. Kaya ayun, hindi namin nakuha ng straight sets,” said Macam.
UST-Gameville was on the brink of sweeping the match, but VNS refused to fold. The Griffins capitalized on the Golden Spikers’ 34 errors and mounted a late rally in the extended third set to force a fourth.
Still, the Golden Spikers responded with a dominant attacking performance, outspiking the Griffins 74-44 to regain control and seal the victory in four sets.
“Pero sana sa next game namin, ma-overcome namin ‘yun. Lalo na ‘yung mga errors na na-commit namin this game. Naging kampante kami kasi up kami ng two, nasobrahan kami sa relax,” Macam added.
Trevor Valera chipped in 10 points, including three blocks, while Andrei Delicana made an instant impact off the bench with all of his 10 points coming in the final frame. Their efforts helped UST-Gameville tie Savouge and Alpha Insurance in the standings, sharing the third to fifth spots in the tournament.
Setter Dux Yambao orchestrated the offense with 34 excellent sets to go along with three points, while libero Edriel Alabar anchored the floor defense with 24 excellent receptions and 18 digs.
UST-Gameville (2-1) will next face the Protectors on Friday at 4:00 PM at the Paco Arena in Manila.
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On the other hand, the Griffins (0-3) dropped their third straight game. They are now tied with PGJC-Navy at the bottom of the standings in the league supported by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
Axel Book was the lone bright spot for VNS, finishing with 16 points and 13 excellent receptions. John Diwa and RK Medino added eight points apiece, while Bembem Bautista contributed seven.
VNS will look to secure its first win against Savouge, also on Friday, at 2:00 PM.
