Criss Cross survived an early scare before staging a dominant comeback, roaring past AEP-Cabstars, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-17, to bag the other finals berth in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference Finals on Sunday at the FilOil Centre.
The King Crunchers thus closed out their round-robin semifinals campaign with a 2-1 win-loss record, not only securing their fifth straight Finals appearance but also earning a shot at redemption against the Savouge Spin Doctors.
Game One of the highly-anticipated best-of-three Finals is set on Wednesday at 5 p.m., also in the same San Juan venue.
After a shaky start that enabled the Cabstars to take early control, the King Crunchers regrouped and dominated the next three frames, anchoring their surge on solid blocking as they imposed their will and overwhelmed the Cabstars the rest of the way.
AEP-Cabstars managed to close in on the fourth frame, but Jaron Requinton anchored a 4-0 run that turned a shaky 16-14 edge into a commanding six-point lead.
Criss Cross cruised to victory from there, with Requinton also taking charge down the stretch. He delivered the team’s last four points to wrap up the match in one hour and 49 minutes and seal their showdown with tormentor Savouge.