By: Kim Yoshi Espiritu
Saints and Lattes -Letran brings down the Davies Paint-Adamson in a stunning sweep at the Spikers Turf Volleyball Championships. Photo courtesy of Spikers' Turf.
Saints and Lattes - Letran staggered the early leading Davies Paint - Adamson with a come-from-behind 20-25, 26-28, 25-16, 25-17, 15-12, victory in the 41st Match of Spikers’ Turf Invitationals 2023 earlier today at Paco Arena in Manila.
Vince ‘Him’zon showed why he is the star, as the former NCAA Season 98 rookie of the year dominated with 19 points built on 17 attacks, one block and an ace to hand the soaring Adamson their first loss of the conference.
Today’s squads were in high gears as they both regrouped after handing St. Gerard Construction Benilde two consecutive losses.
Awakened in the third, Himzon’s laser-sharp attacks from the middle helped Letran puncture a gap between the seemingly impenetrable defense of the men in white jerseys – earning the remaining sets.
It was Adamson which stayed at peak in the first set, not allowing Letran to close the margin. With a lot of errors and miscommunication stalling Letran, the coaching staff voiced demand for stable receptions in order to execute their plays and not stride away from the game plan.
A dimensional second set was displayed by both teams while they orchestrated combination plays and hard blocks after the other. The deadlocks were in nobody’s favor as both teams creeped pace from the 15-point mark to claim the set. It was only until Adamson’s perennial blocking, and Kenneth Paulino’s clean hit that ended the nail-biting sequence, 26-28.
Falcons currently fares ranked as the third blocking team in the league and Knights, on the other side of the court, recognized this adversary by having their raw talents reduce volley errors and power through with excellent kills.
Saints and Lattes - Letran kept the rhythm until the final set to seal an outlasting match wIth BemBem Bautista and Rylie Sta Maria delivering the finishing strikes to pin down the ‘Mr. Anything’, Jude Aguilar, led Davies Paint - Adamson squad, 15-12.
The Saints and Lattes - Letran will continue its bout for the quarterfinal slot of pool C against the dubless Coast Guard Lifesavers on December 1, Friday, still at the same place.