National U-Sta. Elena moved a win away from sweeping the elims in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference as it drove past Ateneo-Fudgee Barr, 25-14, 25-16, 25-19, Saturday at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The romp was the Nationals’ fifth straight overall and third straight-set win in-a-row as they primed up for their keenly awaited clash with the Cignal HD Spikers on Tuesday in what many billed as a preview of the title duel.
The loss eliminated Ateneo which closed out with a 1-5 card, leaving VNS (2-3), Army and Santa Rosa, with identical 1-4 slates, to dispute last Final Four seat.
PGJC-Navy, meanwhile, shrugged off another wobbly start with a strong rebound, essaying a 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21 victory over VNS-Alicia that impeded the Griffins’ drive for an outright semis berth while giving at least two other teams a shot for the last Final Four seat.
Like in their last two victories that saw them drop the opening set before sweeping the next three, including their shock four-set reversal over back-to-back defending champion Cignal HD Spikers last Tuesday, the Sealions regrouped from the second set on, posting a pair of imposing wins before foiling the Griffins late charge in the fourth.
“They made the adjustment with their first ball from the second set so they were able to make some good plays from there,” said Navy coach Cecille Cruzada, whose wards’ third straight victory and fourth overall against one loss augured well for their buildup for the tough semis grind.
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Greg Dolor and Jao Umandal combined for 33 points as they led the Sealions 50-hit assault with Ron Rosales and Peter Quiel backing them up with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Navy also won the net duel, coming through with 13 blocks, four more than their rivals, who produced a 44-attack showing on the combined 24-point output of Ben San Andres and Uriel Mendoza.
