Games Friday
1 p.m. – Coast Guard vs Letran
3 p.m. – FEU vs RTU Basilan
5 p.m. – Air Force vs VNS
St. Gerrard Construction-Benilde rebounded from a tough second set loss and turned back Santa Rosa in the last frame to carve out a 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21 victory and finish fourth in Pool C in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at the Paco Arena in Manila Wednesday.
Jacob Herrera soared for a 16-attack game while James Marasigan backed him up with 12 markers as they helped the Blazing Builders close out their campaign with a 2-3 (win-loss) slate.
Though they fell short of securing a Top 2 finish to advance to the knockout stage, the Blazing Builders gained vauable experience in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
“It’s a good experience. This is a young team, so nakita namin yung kakulangan namin sa mga situations na medyo hindi pa ganun ka-hinog,” said Benilde coach Arnold Laniog.
The Blazing Builders almost crumbled late in the fourth but Marasigan proved clutch, coming through with a kill block to frustrate the City Lions, who wound up fifth in the six-team field with a 1-4 card.
Mike Balbacal and Herrera sparked a 4-1 run to put the Blazing Blazers at match point, 24-19. But they surrendered two consecutive points on a Marasigan net touch and Santa Rosa’s Gene Margate’s quick hit.
“Kailangan pa namin i-workout yung chemistry namin sa mga dikdikan na situation. Most of the crucial situations, dikdikan situations ‘di namin naco-control. Yun yung pinaka naging assessment namin,” added Laniog.
Arnel Aguilar and Balbacal added 11 and 10 markers, respectively, while Lorenz Villanueva tossed 17 excellent sets for Benilde.
Alihfaisal Gampong scored 11 points, all on attacks, for the City Lions.