VNS bucked lack of sleep and training due to fire that hit a portion of its camp, battling back from a set down to foil an upset-seeking Army, 25-14, 20-25, 18-25, 25-11, 15-13, and stay alive in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference semifinals race at the Paco Arena on Wednesday.
Pemie Bagalay continued to step up for the Griffins, scoring a game-high 20 points on 16 attacks, two aces and two blocks, while adding 15 excellent receptions and 10 digs to complete a triple-double showing in nearly two hours of action.
Rocky Motol also came away with 13 points while Jeremy Pedrosa and Jake Buslig chipped in 13 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Griffins, who hiked their record to 6-3, just behind the fourth-running Iloilo D’Navigators (6-2).
“Actually hindi kami masyadong nakapag-training kasi nasunugan kami. Nasunog yung likod na factory namin so dumampi na yung apoy sa may homecourt namin so yung mga players ko walang mga tulog ‘yan,” said VNS head coach Ralph Ocampo, referring to the VNS headquarters in Novaliches, QC.
“Nakaka-trauma yung experience pero yung mga players ko, I salute them kasi naglaro pa rin sila nang maayos despite the tragedy,” he added.
A split by Iloilo coupled with VNS win will pave the way for a tiebreaker through set ratio.
Meanwhile, Benjaylo Labide scored 13 points while Kevin Liberato and PJ Rojas each had 12 points for the Troopers, who ended their elims campaign at 3-7.
