Noel Kampton went from nearly costing Criss Cross the match to helping the King Crunchers complete a thrilling comeback against rival Savouge, eking out a five-set victory, 22-25, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 16-14, in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Wednesday night at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Kampton’s cross-court hit put the King Crunchers at match point, 14-12, but Hero Austria kept the Spin Doctors alive by saving one. Kampton then appeared poised to finish the match with another blistering kill, immediately crossing the court to celebrate with the Criss Cross faithful.
However, the celebration was short-lived.
Savouge challenged the play for a possible centerline violation, and the review instead caught Kampton committing a violation, wiping out the point and forcing the deciding set into a 14-all deadlock.
With the match hanging in the balance once more, Kampton quickly made amends with a down-the-line hit to put the King Crunchers back at match point before Lloyd Josafat delivered an emphatic block on JP Bugaoan to seal the thrilling reverse-sweep victory.
The 26-year-old winger let his emotions spill over once more after Josafat’s game-winning block, unleashing another emphatic celebration that drew the ire of some Savouge players.
Kampton later apologized, explaining that he was simply caught up in the moment and that his outburst was not directed at his opponents but was instead an expression of his frustration over the earlier call.
“First of all, props to Savouge kasi first and second set, nag-struggle kami kasi ang ganda ng serve nila eh. Napagaralan talaga kami ng Savouge. Emotions lang talaga ng fifth set ‘yun. Pasensya na po ulit,” said Kampton, who finished with 15 points in the two-hour, three-minute victory.
“Ano lang, siguro mixed emotions. Kasi sa buong career ko, first time ko lang maglaro ng fifth set na ‘yung may chance kaming maka-reverse sweep. Ayun, medyo na-frustrate lang ako sa call kasi ‘yun nga, bumagsak na ‘yung bola but in the end natawag pa rin. Pero ‘yun ‘yung beauty of sports, mali ko rin ‘yun. After nun ‘yung pagka-point ko ulit, kasi sabi ko hindi pwedeng maging multo ‘to,” he added.
Jude Garcia unloaded 25 points on 21 attacks, three aces, and one block as Criss Cross improved to 2-0, joining Far Eastern University-DN Steel and ClearSkiiin in a three-way tie atop the standings of the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
Newcomers Amil Pacinio and Ariel Cacao, who both started in the final three sets, also stepped up in the hard-fought victory. Pacinio finished with 13 points on 10 attacks and three blocks, while Cacao dished out 22 excellent sets to go with three points.
Criss Cross will next take on Alpha Insurance on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the same venue, aiming to extend its winning streak to three games.
Meanwhile, the revamped Spin Doctors have endured a rough start to the Invitational Conference, dropping their first two games to fall to 0-2.
Mark Calado unleashed 27 points on 25 attacks, one ace, and one block in a losing effort, while Louie Ramirez added 20 points.
Cian Silang dished out 30 excellent sets to go with five excellent receptions, while Vince Lorenzo collected 27 excellent receptions and 10 excellent digs.
Savouge will look to secure its first win when it takes on 3B on Sunday at 1 p.m.
