Cignal edged FEU-DN Steel in a three-set battle, 26-24, 25-20, 25-22, to remain solo second in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Friday at Paco Arena in Manila.
The Super Spikers notched their second straight win to improve to 4-1, trailing only the undefeated Criss Cross King Crunchers, who remain perfect through four matches.
“Somehow, medyo polished ‘yung galaw namin. Mas maganda ang performance namin today, na-execute nang maigi ang game plan. From the first set to the last set, naging effective naman ‘yung game plan namin,” said Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor.
FEU-DN Steel’s Luis Miguel tried to rally the Tamaraws in the third set, scoring four points late to keep the score tied at 22. But Lloyd Josafat answered with a decisive push shot before FEU-DN Steel hurt its own chances with two costly attack errors from Miguel and Amet Bituin, sealing Cignal’s victory in one hour and 22 minutes.
Jay Rack Dela Noche and Louie Ramirez spearheaded Cignal’s offense with 13 points each, bolstering the team’s push for a semifinals berth in the league organized by Sports Vision and supported by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
JP Bugaoan added 11 points, while Wendel Miguel and Josafat chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.
Cignal will return to action on Wednesday at Paco Arena against UST-Gameville.
For the Tamaraws, Dryx Saavedra was the lone double-digit scorer with 12 points, while Bituin and Miguel contributed seven each.
FEU-DN Steel, now 1-3 and in sixth place after suffering back-to-back losses, will look to rebound on Sunday versus the VNS Griffins at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
All games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, as well as through the Pilipinas Live app, which offers video-on-demand. Matches are also streamed via spikersturf.ph.
