By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Team D’Navigators-Iloilo suffered its first-ever loss in the ongoing 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the hands of Imus-Ivy Photography, 25-16, 23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 16-14, last March 8, 2023, held at the Paco Arena in Manila.
After racking up six-straight wins without a loss to lead the league standings, the Ilonggos received a reality check from the talented Imus-Ivy squad and now dropped to second place behind the undefeated Cignal HD Spikers.
Jade Disquitado tried all that he could to continue Iloilo’s fiery streak after tallying 32 big points but it was Imus-Ivy’s balanced attack that stood out in the five-set clash.
Iloilo was able to match Imus-Ivy’s firepower after taking the second and the fourth sets but slowed down in the deciding last set.
Hero Austria played huge for the Imus-Ivy squad and embraced the spotlight in the fifth set when he provided the clutch attacks to fend off Iloilo including the killer blow to help his squad take the third spot with a 6-3 win-loss record.
Veteran star and former national team staple Kim Malabunga backstopped Austria in the intense back-and-forth after chipping in 18 points built from 14 successful attacks.
Also stepping up for Imus-Ivy are Ronnie Rosales and Ridzuam Muhali who each contributed 14 points while also anchoring their floor defense against the well-oiled Iloilo team.
“It’s a nice game, nakaka-excite, Iloilo is a good team, and has this power of floor defense. So I told my setter Ish Polvorosa to create set plays that would baffle the D’Navigators, especially their blocking and floor defense,” said Imus head coach Sammy Acaylar.
Iloilo will look to re-enter the winning column today at 5:30 PM against the star-studded Cignal team led by superstar outside hitter Marck Espejo and former national team member Peter Torres.
