Cabstars-Cabuyao marked its Spikers’ Turf debut with a thriller of a win, staving off MKA-San Beda in a furious duel, 26-24, 25-27, 25-22, 26-24, on Wednesday in Pool B action in the Invitational Conference at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Cabstars showed coolness and poise rarely seen in newcomers as they fought back from 13-18 down in the fourth then endured another protracted battle to snatch the set and the victory to share the early lead with EcoOil La Salle and Air Force.
After blowing a huge five-point lead, San Beda struck back and force a deuce on a Kevin Montemayor cross-court hit. But Justine Santos made a service error and Jomar Soriano came through with a kill to secure the win for the Cabstars.
“They played as a team that’s why we won. They showed character, kung anong meron kami individually and as a team,” said Cabuyao head coach Christian Antiporta.
Cabstars team captain Jerico Adajar shone with 18 excellent sets and added seven points built on three blocks, two aces and two attacks. Most importantly, his playmaking skills produced five double-digit scorers for the team.
Dominic Panganiban and Soriano matched 13-point outputs while Joshua Ramilo, Gabriel Magsino and Michael Doria tallied 11 points apiece.
Cabuyao will go up against Ranran Abdilla and Air Force on Nov. 10.
Meanwhile, Montemayor paced the Red Spikers with 23 points on 20 attacks and three blocks in almost two hours of fierce action.
Axel Book chipped in 11 points while Anrei Bakil and Raph Cabalsa had eight points apiece for San Beda, which fell into a tie with La Salle-Dasmariñas and VNS in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
