Lipa City—Team Dasmariñas completed a three-match sweep of Pool A with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 victory over Sabong International Spikers in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League on Wednesday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center.
Madzlan Gampong went 8-of-14 on attacks and had three blocks and a service ace for 12 points to lead the Monarchs to the semifinals.
Team Dasmariñas will battle the Pool A second placer for a spot in the championship match set for Friday afternoon.
Hurdling their first step toward becoming the first-ever men’s Champion League winners, coach Norman Miguel knew that the Monarchs needed to hike their level of play in the knockout stage in the tournament that has Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors and F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.
“We are happy of course that we ranked No. 1 in our bracket, that’s our short-term goal for this tournament,” said Miguel, whose main concern right now is the fitness of the players. “I think, we have to work on our conditioning. Good thing, we have to rest tomorrow (Thursday).”
The veteran presence of Gampong, a former National University standout, was a big boost for the Monarchs in the pool round.
“Madz, ever since from Day 1 here, is consistent for us. He is our go-to guy. We know it and he knows that every well,” Miguel said. “Madz is a big factor for us. I hope he remains fit going to the semis.”
Mark Calado hammered 11 kills while captain Jayvee Sumagaysay had two blocks for a nine-point effort for the Monarchs.
Jelord Talisayan paced SIS with 15 kills while Charles David Absin chipped in 10 points.
SIS fell to 1-2 won-lost and its fate in clinching the remaining semifinals berth will depend on the result of the final preliminary round match between MRT-Negros and Global Remit on Wednesday afternoon.
The games are live streamed over the PNVF official website volleyballphilippines.com, iWantTFC for local and international audiences, Puso Pilipinas and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels, and Gigaplay.