Reeling off its first loss of the tournament, Criss Cross bounced back with a straight-sets win over Alpha Insurance, 31-29, 25-22, 25-20, to finally enter the win column in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference round-robin semifinals on Friday at the Filoil Playtime Centre in San Juan.
With the victory, the King Crunchers improved to a 1-1 semifinals record while also sending the 2-0 Spin Doctors to their first-ever Finals appearance in the league organized by Sports Vision and supported by Alpha Insurance, Black Mamba, Premiere EMS, and ArenaPlus.
Criss Cross and AEP Cabstars, both holding 1-1 records, will clash in a knockout match on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the same San Juan venue for the last Finals berth.
“Sobrang deserving talaga namin manalo today kasi talagang lahat ng teammates ko, kung sino man ipasok sa court, talagang nagko-contribute, ginagawa nila ‘yung role nila, kung anong pinapagawa ng coaches sa amin,” said four-time MVP Jude Garcia.
The King Crunchers had to endure a tight opening set before pulling through, with Lloyd Josafat and Alche Gupiteo delivering back-to-back points to seal the marathon frame, 31-29.
Criss Cross’ net defense then proved crucial in the second set, especially with the score tied at 22-all.
Edward Camposano’s net fault sparked a decisive surge for the King Crunchers, as Gupiteo and captain Ysay Marasigan came up with key blocks against Don Nadera and Camposano to take the set, 25-22, and move ahead two sets to none.
A strong 10-5 start in the third set, then allowed Criss Cross to complete the sweep in one hour and 29 minutes.
Garcia led the way with 22 points on 19 attacks, two blocks, and one ace, while Gupiteo contributed across the board with 13 points, 14 receptions, and five digs.
Leading All-Star vote-getter Adrian Villados tallied 27 excellent sets, while Josafat added 10 points, half of which came from blocks.
Camposano finished with 13 points and eight digs, but the Protectors still fell to 0-2 and were officially eliminated from Finals contention.
Billie Anima produced 12 points on eight attacks and four blocks, while JJ Javelona chipped in 10 points and 14 receptions.
Alpha Insurance will wrap up its semifinals campaign against already Finals-bound Savouge on Sunday at 5 p.m.
