When the league’s most explosive rivalry lit up the Filoil EcoOil Centre on Sunday night, Adrian Villados took center stage for Criss Cross, orchestrating a masterful performance that powered the King Crunchers to a hard-earned 25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18 victory over the Cignal Super Spikers in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference.
The win kept Criss Cross as the lone unbeaten team in the tournament with a 3-0 record.
Villados was a steady presence all evening, delivering 34 excellent sets to keep the King Crunchers’ offense fluid and balanced. Despite a tough setback in the extended second set, Criss Cross regrouped and tightened their grip the rest of the way to seal the victory.
“Masaya kasi nanalo, pero siguro marami pa po kaming kulang. Pagtatrabahuhan namin, lalo na ‘yung second set na ang dami naming mistakes,” said the Arellano University product, who has been instrumental in leading the King Crunchers to their third straight win to open the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
“Masaya saka challenging kasi Cignal ‘yan. Masaya rin kasi nandiyan ‘yung mga kuya ko, gina-guide ako kaya magaan maglaro sa loob ng court,” he added.
Criss Cross didn’t have to dig too deep in the fourth set, capitalizing on a string of costly Cignal miscues. Errors by Jared Schnake, Steven Rotter, and JP Bugaoan during a decisive 4-0 finishing run turned a close 21-18 count into a commanding seven-point win — punctuated by Bugaoan’s attack error that sealed the match.
And it wasn’t just in the final frame where the King Crunchers capitalized. They pounced on the Super Spikers’ miscues all match long. Cignal yielded 28 errors that proved too costly to overcome in the two-hour, six-minute encounter.
Jude Garcia top scored for the Rebisco-backed squad with 24 points on 20 attacks, three kill blocks, and an ace.
Noel Kampton, despite struggling in the fourth, still managed to put up 16 points and 11 excellent receptions in his first Criss Cross-Cignal rivalry match, while Jaron Requinton added 14 points and five excellent digs.
John Pepito also played big, registering 19 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs to lead the King Cruncers’ floor defense.
Criss Cross will look to sustain its momentum against another contender in Savouge on Wednesday, 4 p.m. at the Paco Arena.
Meanwhile, the Super Spikers slid to 2-1 and are now tied with the Spin Doctors, Alpha Insurance, and University of Santo Tomas-Gameville from the second to fifth spots in the league backed by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, and Arena Plus.
Rotter paced Cignal with 22 points on 18 attacks and four blocks.
Louie Ramirez finished with 14 points and 10 excellent receptions, while Lloyd Josafat added 11 markers for the Super Spikers, who absorbed a major blow late in the third set when Jau Umandal injured his right ankle after diving for a loose ball and crashing into the team’s bench.
Cignal will look to bounce back against the winless PGJC-Navy also on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, with video-on-demand access available via the Pilipinas Live app. Matches are also streamed on spikersturf.ph.
