PGJC Navy kept its semifinal dreams alive in dramatic fashion, outlasting a gritty Savouge squad, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, in a high-stakes showdown in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference preliminaries on Friday at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The Sealions secured the vital win to stay at solo sixth place, improving their win-loss record to 4-3 with two matches remaining in their schedule—against Martelli Meats on November 27 and Cignal on November 29.
“Itong Savouge talagang pinaghandaan namin siya. 100 percent, 150 percent, 200 percent pinaghandaan namin kasi alam namin papalagan kami nito, alam namin na galing sa talo manggigigil ‘yan. Nag-hard training talaga kami after namin matalo sa La Salle at lumabas naman ngayon ‘yung resulta,” said PGJC Navy head coach Mike Santos.
Neil de Pedro and Giles Torres kept Savouge in contention during the fourth set, attempting to force a decider. However, PGJC Navy’s trio of Joeven dela Vega, Greg Dolor, and Marvin Villanueva proved too much, leading the Sealions to their fourth win after two hours and 10 minutes of play.
Louie Pudadera orchestrated PGJC Navy’s balanced attack with 17 excellent sets, contributing three points of his own and enabling five double-digit scorers.
Dela Vega led the charge with 18 points, eight excellent receptions, and five digs, while Villanueva added 15 points. Peter Quiel delivered seven of Navy’s 12 blocks to finish with 14 points, while Dolor and Nilo Jasmin chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Libero Jeremy Santos anchored the Sealions’ defense with 19 excellent receptions and 12 digs.
Savouge, after a strong 4-0 start to the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision, absorbed its second consecutive defeat, falling to 4-2 and slipping to solo fifth.
One-time Spikers’ Turf Player of the Week, Sherwin Caritativo, led Savouge with 19 points and 19 receptions, while Louis Gamban contributed 14 points and five digs.
The Spin Doctors will aim to bounce back on November 24 when they face D’Navigators-Iloilo.
