PGJC-Navy pounced on Maverick’s shaky windup in the third set as it hammered out a 25-20, 25-11, 25-20 victory to seize solo second in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Wednesday.
The Sealions broke away from a tight 18-all count by cashing in on the Hard Hitters’ three miscues then Marvin Villanueva, Peter Quiel and John Jacob combined in a decisive 4-1 closing run to secure the win in one hour and 21 minutes of play.
It was Navy’s second consecutive victory after yielding to defending champion Cignal and trouncing the Philippine Air Force side.
“So far, so good. Ang importante nananalo kahit anong set, yun naman ang sabi ko sa kanila eh,” said Navy head coach George Pascua.
Navy’s Jeffrey Alicando also committed a service error after the Sealions pulled ahead at 21-18, but Villanueva, Quiel and Jacob stepped up with clutch hits to frustrate the Hard Hitters.
“Confident naman ako na kaya nilang kumapit sa mga ganung crucial moments (third set) kasi nga iniensayo namin yung mga ganung scenario. ‘Di na ako nagduda sa kanila na ‘di namin mao-overcome,” added Pascua.
Joeven Dela Vega again starred for Navy with 15 points on 13 attacks, an ace and a block, while Jacob and Quiel chipped in 10 points each with the latter also coming through with three kill blocks in the victory.
Louie Pudedera dished out a 14-excellent set performance to help anchor the Sealions’ offense while Jack Kailngking registered 21 excellent receptions and 11 excellent digs.
Navy goes for a third straight win, and fourth overall, against RichMarc Sports 3B on April 5 at 4 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Razzel Palisoc scored seven points while Jerome Cordez finished with six markers for Maverick, which slipped to 0-2 in a tie with the Elite Spikers. The Hard Hitters seek their first win against D’Navigators Iloilo on Wednesday, also at Ynares arena.
