Philippine Air Force overcame a shaky start and a resilient RichMarc Sports 3b in the fourth set as it fashioned out a 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 victory, marking the start of its campaign in the 2024 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum Wednesday night.
Despite holding a 16-13 lead midway through the fourth set, the Airmen faced a challenge as the Elite Spikers countered with a 6-3 spurt, tying the game at 19 on a Mel de Guzman’s off-the-block hit.
Gideon Guadalupe’s down-the-line assault saved the new team a match point at 23-24, but Pol Salvador clinched the victory for the Airmen with a through-the-block kill, sealing the one-hour, 53-minute match.
Air Force mentor Jeffrey Malabanan mentioned the need to remind his young team to control their attacks and stick to the system throughout the game.
“Medyo nakalimutan ng attackers namin (ang sistema). Ang ginamit nila puro power. So syempre, dahan-dahan, kailangan may variation yung palo. Hindi atake lang nang atake,” Malabanan said.
Bryan Jaleco led the Airmen with 21 points, including 18 on attacks, while Salvador and Ahmad Abdul came through with 14 points apiece. Ron Villegas demonstrated control on the floor for Air Force, tallying 20 excellent sets. For the Elite Spikers, Kurl Rosete and Guadalupe scored 19 and 14 points, respectively.
Looking ahead, Air Force goes for a second win against PGJC-Navy on Sunday at 4 p.m., also at the Rizal Coliseum.
“I-diretso lang namin yung sistema na ginagawa namin sa team anmin and then kung ano yung magiging adjustment namin, siguro sa later part na. Kasi bago parang bago pa lang kami,” said Malabanan.
RichMarc Sports, on the other hand, faces a tougher challenge in its next game, colliding with reigning champion Cignal.
