Unbeaten Criss Cross is showing no signs of slowing down in its dominant march in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
A huge part of the King Crunchers' success has been the superb playmaking of setter Adrian Villados, who has been pulling the strings to perfection.
Villados played a key role in keeping the King Crunchers perfect, orchestrating the offense in two more victories to improve their league-best record to 7-0.
For his calm leadership and efficient playmaking, Villados has been named the Spikers’ Turf Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of 9 to 13 March.
The talented playmaker first tallied 12 excellent sets in Criss Cross’ dominant 25-17, 25-18, 25-13 victory over the Alpha Insurance Protectors last Wednesday at the FilOil Centre in San Juan.
The Arellano University product then delivered his best performance of the week, dishing out a whopping 39 excellent sets to secure a four-set triumph against the Savouge Spin Doctors, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, on Friday.
Despite the growing confidence of a preliminary round sweep, Villados said the team remains focused on taking things one match at a time.
“We’re not thinking about the sweep. Our focus is to win one game at a time,” he said.
“As setter, it’s my job to make sure that the team is calm and composed inside the court. Our mindset is to follow the system and believe in our preparation during training. What’s important is our consistent performance every game to put us closer to our goal.
Villados also highlighted the importance of spreading the offense and keeping all of Criss Cross’ deadly attackers involved, which has proven to be a key factor in the team’s unbeaten run.
Villados edged out teammate Alche Gupiteo, AEP-Cabstars’ Jay Rack dela Noche and Jared Schnake and 3B’s John Vincent Ramos and Christhian Olaes, for the weekly honor, which is deliberated by print and online reporters covering the country’s premier men’s volleyball league organized by Sports Vision.