Garcia makes heads turn anew

Maturity comes with experience.

Pitted against young and rising talents, Jude Garcia gave the youngbloods a little lesson on what grizzled veterans are made of.

The Criss Cross star flaunted his firepower, veteran composure and unquestionable heart down the stretch in delivering the decisive blows to carry his squad into the semifinals of the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference.

The King Crunchers turned to Garcia at crunch time to stave off La Salle-EcoOil’s third set uprising and essay a 25-21, 25-12, 25-23 victory for their fourth straight win Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena.

“Going up against young players gets my blood flowing. Seeing the new generation’s style of play and quickness is a joy to watch,” Garcia said.

The Far Eastern University product tallied 20 points built on 18 attacks, a block, and an ace, which he paired with eight excellent receptions.

Garcia’s impressive showing earned him a second straight Spikers’ Turf Press Corps Player of the Week award presented by Pilipinas Live for 20 to 24 November.

Thanks to his steady performance, the King Crunchers booked the third semis seat after hiking their record to 6-1 at the no. 3 spot.

“We’re veterans so we need to show our maturity not just against the collegiate players but to the rest of the field. We respect whoever our opponents are, mat they be younger or more experienced than us,” Garcia added.

The Open Conference Most Valuable Player won via unanimous vote over contenders FEU-DN Steel’s Jelord Talisayan, Cignal’s Jau Umandal and Mark Calado, and Savouge Aesthetics’ Norwel Sanama for the weekly honor awarded by print and online media covering the league, which is streamed live and on-demand via the Pilipinas Live app and on www.spikersturf.ph.

With just two games left in the preliminary round, Garcia emphasized the importance of maintaining consistency in their chase for a breakthrough championship breakthrough.

“I try to work on my consistency because we came up short last conference (in the Finals). My mindset is to be consistent every game,” Garcia said.

“It starts with our training. If you give your 100 percent effort in training, it will translate in the actual game.”