One Sports
Monday, November 11, 2024
The EcoOil-La Salle Green Oilers stay immaculate like their fellow invitee, DNS Steel FEU, after a resounding win against the PGJC Navy Sealions in the 2024 Spikers' Turf Invitational Conference.
Vince Maglinao delivers a 21-point outing for the EcoOil-La Salle Green Oilers against the PGJC Navy Sealions for a 4-0 record. | Photo: Spikers' Turf
EcoOil La Salle Green Oilers bucked a cold start and rallied to a four-set victory against PGJC Navy, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23, to stretch its own run to four in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig on Sunday.
Vince Maglinao delivered his best game yet this conference, unloading a game-high 21 points and producing 14 excellent digs to lead the Green Oilers to a blistering start in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
“Happy, though medyo slow start. Pero somehow, nagising din sila after nung first set. Na-realize nila na hindi pwedeng relax relax lang,” La Salle head coach Jose Roque said.
“Kailangan namin talagang magseryoso eh. Hindi tayo pwedeng magbigay ng segundo o minuto para [makahabol] ‘yung kalaban. Kailangan i-stop agad,” he added.
After dropping the first set, the Green Oilers found their rhythm, dominating the next three frames with Maglinao firing the decisive blow, securing the match by forcing an error on Navy’s defense at Zone 4.
Though Navy fought back, saving four match points and capitalizing on La Salle’s initial service and challenge errors, Maglinao’s consistent performance helped solidify the Green Oilers’ lead in the standings, just behind DN Steel-FEU, which earlier rolled to its sixth straight win with a five-set escape over Savouge.
Despite the victory, Maglinao acknowledged the need for further improvement, particularly in court synergy, to ensure smoother gameplay as the tournament progresses.
“We focus on the process. After every game, we assess what we still need to improve because, in this Spikers’ Turf tournament, our opponents have more experience than we do. We take that as a challenge to work on our individual skills,” said Maglinao in Filipino, who earned the game's top honors.
Despite their strong start in the conference, Maglinao acknowledged that the Green Oilers still have areas to strengthen.
“We need to keep building our connection on the court to improve the flow of our game,” he added.
Joshua Magalaman made his presence upfront and tallied six of the Green Oilers’ 17 blocks on his way to a 14-point performance, while Glen Ventura registered 14 markers on 10 attacks and four kill blocks.
Yoyong Mendoza added nine points, while Noel Kampton, who only played in the opening set, had four markers as La Salle moved up to the third spot in the Invitational Conference.
Jericho Adajar came up with 22 excellent sets and finished with four points, while team skipper Menard Guerrero collected 12 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs.
The Green Oilers will face acid test as they collide with the Cignal HD Spikers on Friday at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, Navy absorbed its second consecutive loss to drop to sixth with a 3-3 record.
Peter Quiel, Greg Dolor and Nilo Jasmin scored 10 points each for the Sealions, who will aim to rebound against the Spin Doctors, also on Friday at 4 p.m