Savouge tightened its grip on the increasingly crowded semifinals race, stunning National University-Archipelago Builders in straight sets, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20, to forge a four-way tie for second place in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The streaking Spin Doctors extended their winning run to five games, improving to a 5-2 record to join Far Eastern University-DN Steel, Alpha Insurance, and NU-Archipelago Builders in a four-way tie for second place.
Defending champion Criss Cross remains on top of the standings at 6-0, while ClearSkiiin trails the second-place pack at 4-2.
Despite the logjam, Savouge holds the upper hand among the four tied teams, collecting 17 points in the six-team semifinals race.
“Prior sa match today, talagang we prepared for this game, proper mindset as well for the players, so to be honest before we went dun sa court, nag-meditate talaga kami to make sure na everyone is calm,” said head coach Sydney Calderon.
“Focus lang talaga, and I think ‘yung nakita ko kanina is ‘yung team effort talaga,” Calderon added.
The Spin Doctors’ offensive firepower proved too much to handle, even for the league’s best blocking team. Savouge hammered down 50 kills on 98 attempts to keep NU at bay in the 78-minute victory.
The Bulldogs entered the match boasting the league’s best blocking averages, with 14.33 blocks per game and 3.91 per set. They were also coming off a 20-block performance against AEP-Cabstars, their best defensive showing in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
However, Savouge neutralized NU’s biggest strength, limiting the Bulldogs to just five blocks as the Spin Doctors repeatedly found openings through the attacking prowess of Jared Schnake and Joeven Dela Vega, who finished with 15 points apiece.
Mark Calado added a double-double of 13 points and 12 excellent receptions, while middle blockers and brothers JP and Martin Bugaoan chipped in seven and five points, respectively. The two also accounted for three of Savouge’s five blocks.
Setter Vince Imperial continued to find his rhythm since returning from a shoulder injury, dishing out 19 excellent sets to go with two points. Veteran libero Rikko Marmeto also anchored Savouge’s floor defense with 13 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs.
Savouge will look to further strengthen its semifinals bid and extend its winning streak to six games when it takes on already-eliminated AEP-Cabstars on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the same venue.
Meanwhile, NU struggled to find its footing from the opening serve, failing to establish an offensive rhythm as Savouge dictated the pace throughout the match. The defeat also snapped the Bulldogs’ two-game winning streak.
Jade Disquitado was held to 10 points on 10-of-30 attacking, although he chipped in 20 excellent receptions. Buds Buddin also finished with 10 points, tallying seven attacks and three blocks.
Leo Ordiales likewise struggled to get going offensively, managing just eight points on seven-of-25 attacks and one block.
NU will look to bounce back and return to the win column against fellow also-ran 3B at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
