Spin Doctors tighten hold of third spot

Coming off a tough five-set loss to Criss Cross, Savouge vented its frustrations on VNS-Laticrete, scoring a 25-16, 25-20, 25-23 victory to close the first round of the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference on a high note on Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The Spin Doctors banked on their sharp attacks and superb floor defense to dominate the Griffins in the first two sets, then fought back from three points down late in the third, capitalizing on their rivals’ miscues to fashion out the straight-set victory.

Meanwhile, Alpha Insurance finally broke through after sweeping an undermanned PGJC-Navy side, 25-21, 26-24, 25-19 to close out its first-round eliminations campaign on a high note after four consecutive losses.

Savouge thus kept its hold of the No. 3 spot with a 3-2 record in the tournament organized by Sports Vision behind the unbeaten Cignal and Criss Cross, both toting 4-0 marks.

The HD Spikers and the King Crunchers were disputing the solo lead at press time.

“We’re still getting complacent, especially in the endgame,” Savouge head coach Sydney Calderon said.

“It’s something that we still can’t change.”

CJ Segui tried to will VNS back into the match as he delivered back-to-back points to tie the score at 22. But Jan Mangulabnan committed a costly error before Segui’s attack sailed out, enabling the Spin Doctors to move at match point, 24-22.

Charlee Magpayo made a service fault in the ensuing play as VNS staved off the outright setback but John Diwa sneaked in for a quick attack to dash the Griffins’ hopes for a turnaround in the tournament also supported by Arena Plus and Mikasa.

“Good thing there’s still round two. We have to avoid getting complacent and start it by working hard in training,” Calderon added.

Mark Calado topscored for the Spin Doctors with 18 points on 16-of-30 attacks and finished with two blocks, while Sherwin Cartiativo dished out an 11-point, 10-excellent reception, and five-excellent dig performance to help anchor their victory.

John Diwa chipped in 11 markers, including five kill blocks, while Giles recorded three kill blocks to finish with 10 markers.

Madz Gampong made his debut for Savouge and scored seven points.

John Kenneth Hernandez came up with 15 excellent sets, while Rikko Marmeto posted 10 excellent digs for Savouge in the one-hour, 18-minute contest.