The VNS Griffins found a way to halt their four-game skid, getting a come-from-behind win against the Alpha Insurance Protectors in hopes of reaching the Spikers' Turf semifinals.
VNS finally broke through the hard way, surviving a late scare from Alpha Insurance to carve out a come-from-behind 19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 26-24 victory and revive its slim semifinal hopes in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Wednesday at the Paco Arena.
The win ended the Griffins’ four-game skid, but they now face a must-win stretch in their remaining matches against FEU-DN Steel Tamaraws and PGJC-Navy Sealions to stay in contention for a semis berth.
“Actually, naghirap naman kami – nag-training talaga kami for the game. Breaks of the game lang talaga, maganda ‘yung ginalaw ng mga bata,” said VNS head coach Ralph Ocampo, lauding his players’ effort and resilience.
The Griffins had to dig deep late in the fourth set as the Protectors mounted a furious rally, erasing what was once a comfortable 22-16 cushion. Jerome Lopez capped a blistering 5-0 Alpha Insurance run with a clever 1-2 play that trimmed the gap to just one, 21-22, putting VNS under pressure.
Noy Pedrosa answered with a thunderous cross-court hit, and a costly attack error by Barbie San Andres handed the Griffins match point at 24-22.
Pedrosa, however, fouled up on the service line and Vince Himzon came up with a clutch block moments later to tie the game at 24.
Fortunately for VNS, Rommelito Baptista’s service error gave them another chance, and RK Medino capitalized with a decisive push to seal the win – and with it, a flicker of hope in their semis chase.
“Kahapon nagkaroon kami ng session about growth and mindset – na every time na nasa training or game, they need to learn and have feedback and response para tuloy-tuloy ‘yung growth nila,” added Ocampo.
Pedrosa led the Griffins with 17 points and six excellent digs, while Medino and Axel Book chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively. John Diwa added nine markers, while Bembem Bautista and Andreii Bakil contributed eight and seven markers, respectively.
Libero Howard Guerra anchored the floor defense with 22 excellent digs, while Joshua Cruz had 13 excellent receptions and 11 digs.
VNS looks to ride the momentum when it faces FEU-DN Steel on Friday at 10 a.m., still at the Paco Arena.
Alpha Insurance, which dropped to 2-3 and stayed at fifth place, was led by San Andres’ 18 points, all from attacks, and nine digs. Himzon added 16 points on 14 attacks and two kill blocks in the loss.
The Protectors aim to bounce back against winless Sealions, also on Friday, at 3 p.m.
Games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, with video-on-demand access available via the Pilipinas Live app. Matches are also streamed on spikersturf.ph.