When Philippine Army foiled Vanguard in four sets on Wednesday in the 2023 Spikers' Turf Open Conference, it meant a lot for the Troopers.
The victory moved Army up to 2-1 and the upper half of the 11-team field of the men's premier league organized by Sports Vision.
That second win means that the Troopers have already eclipsed their forgettable stint in the 2022 Open Conference where they placed dead last at seventh with a 1-5 card.
Army along with Ateneo and Santa Rosa all finished at 1-5 but the Troopers only amassed two points while the Blue Eagles (four) and the Lions (five) collected more.
"Sabi ko nga challenge itong game na ito, kailangan manalo kami dito dahil kapag nalagpasan namin ito, dagdagan pa namin yung sacrifice na ginagawa namin sa training. Itataas talaga namin," said Army head coach Melvin Carolino, whose wards are determined to enter the Top Four this time.
"Kumbaga yung tingin sa amin, medyo aangat pa nang husto lalo na kapag manalo ulit kami sa susunod."
The Troopers won against PGJC-Navy in five sets before dropping a four-setter against the still-unbeaten AMC-Cotabato.
But tough would be the next seven games for them to close the preliminaries as they still have 3-0 Iloilo, 2-0 Cignal, and 2-1 Imus-ITP in their schedule.
A big mettle test awaits them in their next game as Army faces the D'Navigators, who are on a three-game romp.
"Ang mindset namin ganon pa rin, walang itatapon na service at pagaganahin lagi ang blockings," shared Carolino ahead of their big matchup against Iloilo on Sunday.
This current group of Troopers was easier to coach according to Carolino as all 13 of them are enlisted personnel in the Army.
In the previous conference, they had four guest players.
"Yun ang maganda sa team namin ngayon dahil mga sundalo sila, isang sabi ko lang susunod kaagad kaya solid yung team namin ngayon."
