BY ABBY TORALBA
D’NAVIGATORS Iloilo stretched its winning streak to four and claimed the solo lead in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference after rallying past Philippine Army 17-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18 yesterday at the Paco Arena.
Jade Disquitado steered Iloilo with 19 points and four digs, while Jerome Cordez contributed 14 markers, all from attacks.
Setter JM Apolinario tossed 27 excellent sets and had two blocks, while Neil De Pedro delivered both in offense and defense with nine points and 14 excellent receptions for Iloilo.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila kulang kayo sa trabaho, mag-trabaho kayo nang maayos, gawin niyo ang part ninyo. Hindi pwedeng ganito kasi matatalo tayo kapag ganyan kayo. Buti nakinig sila,” D’ Navigators coach Kenneth Panes said after his charges lost the first set.
“Ang job natin hindi pa tapos, marami pa tayong room for improvement. Hindi puwedeng makampante. Kailangan pa nating magtrabaho dahil marami pa tayong remaining games,” he added.
The Iloilo-based side stayed unbeaten with a 4-0 mark while the Troipers dropped to 2-2.
Kevin Liberato paced Army with 19 points, Benjaylo Labide scored 13 points, while Patrick Rojas and Mark Enciso chipped in 10 points, respectively.
In the second match, VNS survived a thrilling battle over NU-Archipelago 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 20-25, 17-15 and improved to 2-2.
Jeremy Pedrosa powered the Griffins with 13 markers along with six digs, Philip Balagay sizzled in 11 points, while Rocky Motol and Russel Fronda added 10 points each.
Rwenzmel Taguibolos and Mac Bandola led the scoring load for the Builders, who absorbed their fourth straight loss, with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
