Nationals oust Eagles; Sealions trip Griffins
Games Tuesday
11:30 p.m. – Navy vs Santa Rosa 2:30 p.m. – Army vs VNS 5:30 p.m. – Sta. Elena vs Cignal
PGJC-Navy shrugged off another wobbly start with a strong rebound, essaying a 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21 victory over VNS-Alicia that impeded the Griffins’ drive for an outright semis berth on Saturday while giving at least two other teams a shot for the last Final Four seat in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
Like in their last two victories that saw them drop the opening set before sweeping the next three, including their shock four-set reversal over backto-back defending champion Cignal HD Spikers last Tuesday, the Sealions regrouped from the second set on, posting a pair of imposing wins before foiling the Griffins late charge in the fourth.
National U-Sta. Elena moved a win away from sweeping the elims as it drove past Ateneo-Fudgee Barr, 25-14, 25-16, 25-19, in the nightcap while ousting the Eagles from the semis race.
The romp was the Nationals’ fifth straight overall and third straight-set win in-a-row as they primed up for their keenly awaited clash with the Cignal HD Spikers on Tuesday in what many billed as a preview of the title duel.
Ateneo closed out with a 1-5 card, leaving VNS (2-3), Army and Santa Rosa, with identical 1-4 slates, to dispute last Final Four seat.
“They made the adjustment with their first ball from the second set so they were able to make some good plays from there,” said Navy coach Cecille Cruzada, whose wards’ third straight victory and fourth overall against one loss augured well for their buildup for the tough semis grind.
Greg Dolor and Jao Umandal combined for 33 points as they led the Sealions 50-hit assault with Ron Rosales and Peter Quiel backing them up with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Navy also won the net duel, coming through with 13 blocks, four more than their rivals, who produced a 44-attack showing on the combined 24-point output of Ben San Andres and Uriel Mendoza.