Army rallied from a three-point deficit in the fourth frame to beat Instituto Estetico Manila, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23, and complete the semifinal cast in the Premier Volleyball League men’s tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Down 20-17, the Army Spikers intensified their assault on the net to prevail in their playoff for the fourth and last semis berth.
The victory arranged Army a best-of-three semis series with Air Force, which claimed the top seeding via a superior quotient over Cignal.
Both Air Force and Cignal finished with identical 4-1 marks in the elims.
The other semis pairing pit No. 2 Cignal against the third-seedeed Sta. Elena.
Lemuel Arbasto led the Army Spikers with 17 points, including 15 kills, while Romnick Rico chipped in 15 points, all coming from attacks.
Skipper Benjaylo Labide and Jayvee Sumagaysay also contributed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Timothy Tajanlangit highlighted Army’s decisive run late in the fourth with two aces to grab the lead, 23-20, before a combination attack from Rico sealed the win.
The Army Spikers were so sharp they made 56 hits aside from posting nine blocks, and five aces which proved big enough to overcome their 38 errors.
Only Greg Dolor scored in twin figures for IEM with 11 points, while Darryl Evangelista had eight.
The semis action fires off tomorrow.
