MANILA, Philippines -- Cignal HD imposed its will on Army en route to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-14 victory in the 2023 Spikers' Turf Open Conference, Saturday night at the Paco Arena.

The HD Spikers dominated the Troopers from the get-go and built commanding leads as early as the first technical timeout of each frame before cruising to victory. They have won all six of their matches and have yet to drop a set in the conference.

"Sinasabi ko lang sa team na huwag magsasawa kasi ang hirap eh lalo nasa taas kami. There's no way to go up pa but to maintain our standing," said Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor.

JP Bugaoan once again starred for Cignal with 13 points on seven attacks, four blocks and two aces, while Peter Torres added eight points for the HD Spikers, whose defense also held all game to frustrate the Troopers’ top hitters.

No one reached double figures for Army with Benjaylo Labide settling for nine points and Mark Enciso adding eight markers. The Troopers absorbed their fourth consecutive loss for a 2-5 record and eighth place in the 11-team tournament.

Earlier, Santa Rosa City pounced on a Ranran-Abdilla less Air Force and pounded out a 25-22, 25-23, 25-23 victory to extend its comeback run to three wins.

The City Lions battled back from 20-23 down in the third by scoring the last five points to complete the victory despite the absence of Abdilla, the league's leading scorer with 107 points through six games but got sidelined by a left knee injury he suffered while training for the beach volleyball national team.

Jerico Adajar's ace capped Santa Rosa’s big third-set come as they hiked their record to 3-4 after a fumbling start.

"Sabi ko lang puso at maglaro nang matalino kasi more of a mental game ang volleyball, hindi lang palaging palakasan," said Santa Rosa head coach Edu Lirio.
Yoyong Mendoza almost had a triple-double of 13 points, 10 excellent receptions and nine digs while setter Adajar produced 13 excellent sets and scored nine points on four blocks and two aces for the City Lions.

JR Labrador and Edwin Tolentino scored 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Airmen, who fell to 1-6.