IN a battle of two rivals in the AFP Olympics, PGJC-Navy halted its two-game skid while extending Philippine Air Force's woes to three games, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 25-21, in the 2023 Spikers' Turf Open Conference at Paco Arena on Sunday.
Sealions captain Greg Dolor was the high man with 25 points on 22 attacks, two kill blocks, and a service ace to help his team jump back to the winning column.
And Dolor was the one who made the separation hits in the fourth set when the Airmen were still in striking distance, tallying six points down the stretch including the game-clinching block over Edwin Tolentino.
"Sa ensayo namin kailangan lang talaga namin yung communication, first ball nila, saka blockings. Natuwa naman ako kasi 'yung blockings saka first ball nila ay gumanda naman ngayon," said Navy head coach Cecille Cruzada, whose squad got nine blocks over the opponents' six.
Errors doomed the Airmen in the third set, giving up four free points to the Sealions to turn a 19-all affair into a 25-22 loss with Dolor and Christian Marcelino also delivering the hits.
Navy rose to 2-3, joint sixth with Philippine Army, while Air Force sank deeper to 1-5.
"Pinaghandaan talaga namin yung Air Force na sana manalo kami kasi nga humahabol kami sa rankings ngayon," added Cruzada.
Marcelino added 17 points and 16 excellent receptions for the victors while Marvin Villanueva continued to fill the shoes of Jude Garcia, who is still recovering from a sprained left ankle, with 10 points and seven digs.
Ranran Abdilla, who gave the Airmen their lone set after back-to-back backrow kills, had 25 points, 13 excellent receptions, and seven digs, while Tolentino got 16.
Rence Melgar took care of the floor defense with 24 receptions and 14 digs.
