Imus-Ivy Tuason Photography toppled Iloilo, 25-23, 11-25, 25-20, 25-15, but still dropped from Finals contention in the 2023 Spikers' Turf Open Conference round-robin semifinals, Monday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The AJAA Spikers forged a tie with the D'Navigators at 1-2 but the lopsided second set defeat cost their chance to advance to the championship round.
Imus-ITP head coach Sammy Acaylar shared, "Ang katotohanan masaya pero on second thought, malungkot because pinaghandaan din namin yung mga ibang kalaban namin pero masaya ako kasi nanalo naman kami ngayon, one of the best teams yung Iloilo tapos tinalo namin."
Iloilo, meanwhile, still has a chance to enter the Finals depending of the result of the Cotabato-Cignal match which is being played as of posting time.
After Iloilo's huge 25-11 win in the second set, the AJAA Spikers regained their momentum and capitalized on their opponent's errors to gain a 2-1 advantage with a score of 25-20. Imus then dominated the fourth set and won convincingly with a score of 25-15.
Hero Austria led the charge for the AJAA Spikers, scoring 17 points on 12 attacks, four blocks, and a service ace, with 20 excellent receptions and seven digs.
Middle blockers Ronniel Rosales and Kim Malabunga also contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, while libero Rikko Marmeto made 15 receptions and nine digs.
Despite Jade Disquitado's season-high of 30 points for Iloilo, their effort went in vain.
