MANILA – VNS Griffins stayed in contention for a semifinal spot in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference after a 25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 25-19 victory over D’Navigators Iloilo at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on Sunday night.
Kenneth Daynata spearheaded the offense with 18 points, including five kill blocks, and adding 10 excellent receptions as the Griffins recorded their third victory in seven matches.
“Tingin ko po nahirapan kami makapag-recover agad since lahat kami bata, pero bumawi naman kami sa third and fourth sets and nakuha namin ‘yung panalo,” Daynata said during his Player of the Game interview.
“We’re still young, but we need to be braver and stronger (for our upcoming games),” he added. “We’ll make sure to play like mature players and give our best in these final games.”
CJ Segui, who came off the bench in the last two sets, scored 11 points laced with eight excellent receptions, while Benjaylo Labide registered 10 points despite playing only in the third and fourth sets.
VNS found itself trailing early in the fourth set but unleashed a blistering 14-4 run behind the combined efforts of Daynata, Labide, Titus Villacrusis, and Roderick Medino to turn a 6-8 score to a 20-12 spread.
“More on teamwork kasi nagpa-practice naman kami, continuous naman ‘yung practice namin. Actually, we’re just expecting to participate kasi nga pinasok namin ‘yung mga bata. Now, we’ve exceeded ‘yung expectations namin,” said Griffins head coach Ralph Ocampo.
Madz Gampong led the D’Navigators with 15 points, while Kyle Villamor and Steven Sta. Maria added 14 points each and Vince Himzon finished with 11 markers. They dropped to a 1-6 win-loss slate./PN
