MANILA – Francis Saura stepped up in clutch as D’Navigators-Iloilo edged past Savouge Aesthetics Spin Doctors, 25-17, 25-17, 18-25, and 25-23, in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on Sunday night at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Facing an 18-21 deficit in the fourth set, the D’Navigators turned to Saura, who unleashed consecutive powerful attacks followed by an ace to ignite a 5-0 scoring run to take a 23-21 lead.
The Spin Doctors managed to cut the deficit to 22-23 on a connection by Norwel Sanama, but they committed a service error that sent the Ilonggos at match point at 24-22.
Sherwin Caritativo salvaged a point for the Spin Doctors with a powerful hit, but Arvin Estomata sealed the victory for the D’Navigators with a decisive kill against the Savouge defense.
“Talagang pinagtrabahuhan namin ng husto. Actually nung third set medyo nag-relax eh, kaya sabi ko nung fourth set kailangan makuha na,” said D’Navigators head coach Boyet Delmoro.
“Sa awa naman ng Diyos, nakinig naman sila sa mga instructions. Nung nag-timeout ako (4th set) nagbigay ako ng instruction na kailangan kumapit kami,” added Delmoro.
Saura finished with a game-high 20 points, on 14 attacks, five blocks, and an ace, while Edward Camposano contributed 12 points, 16 excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs as the Ilonggos improved to a 2-0 record.
Caritativo came off the bench to score 14 points to go with 11 excellent receptions and five excellent digs, while Sanama had 13 points, all from attacks. They dropped to 1-2 record.
Meanwhile, Jude Garcia showcased another two-way effort as the Criss Cross King Crunchers scored a dominant 25-16, 25-10, 25-22 victory over the RichMarc Sports 3B to stay undefeated after three games.
Garcia converted 11 of his 15 attack attempts and delivered five service aces to finish with 16 points, along with nine excellent receptions and seven excellent digs to lead the way for the King Crunchers./PN
