Jude Garcia and the Criss Cross King Crunchers staved off the Savouge Aesthetics Spin Doctors to end their 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference elimination round at second place.
Criss Cross cut-off the semifinal aspirations of Savouge Aesthetics with a hard-fought victory, 25-15, 25-19, 31-33, 25-19, in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Ynares Sports Arena Friday night.
The King Crunchers bucked a late third-set meltdown before fending off the comeback attempt of the Spin Doctors to finish the elimination round at second place with a 7-1 record.
The victory completes the Final Four lineup, with Criss Cross pulling Savouge down to a 4-4 slate. This paves the way for D'Navigators and PGJC-Navy, both of which already have five wins, to advance alongside defending champion Cignal and Criss Cross into the next round.
Holding a 2-0 set lead and a commanding 24-17 advantage in the third set, the King Crunchers saw their offense go adrift as the Spin Doctors leaned on the trio of Hero Austria, Sherwin Caritativo, and Nonwel Sanama to instigate a 7-0 run that locked the count at 24.
An intense trade of blows then ensued before Caritativo tipped the scales to Savouge with a through-the-block hit and followed up with a block on Pemie Bagalay to extend the match.
Criss Cross woke up from a slump and sprinted to a 23-19 edge, as Jude Garcia and Marck Espejo nailed consecutive hits to ice the game for good.
Garcia came through once more with 22 points built on 16 attacks, five blocks, and an ace, while Chu Njigha supplemented 12 markers.
Kim Malabunga also anchored above the net with four blocks on his way to 11 points, as Bagalay pitched in 10 markers and 12 receptions. Espejo, who came off the bench, contributed eight points.
Geuel Asia fanned out 20 excellent sets for the King Crunchers, who strung 21 receptions and nine digs.
On the other hand, Sanama poured 21 points for the Spin Doctors, who bowed out at fifth place. Caritativo had 14 markers, nine receptions, and seven digs that went for naught.
Criss Cross now sets its sights on the round-robin semifinals May 1, Wednesday, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
PGJC-Navy and D'Navigators will face on Sunday, April 28, to break the tie in the Final Four, with the winner facing the Cignal HD Spikers while the loser will match up with Criss Cross.