Kindai University maintained its perfect start in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference, overpowering University of Santo Tomas-Gameville in a 25-22, 25-17, 25-15 straight-sets victory on Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Coming off a win that handed Criss Cross its first tournament defeat, the Japanese guest team improved to 3-0, continuing to showcase why they are one of the favorites in the league organized by Sports Vision.
“Since this is a battle between two university teams, we want to give our all and show our pedigree against University of Santo Tomas,” said Kindai head coach Hideyuki Mitsuyama through an interpreter.
After a tightly contested first set, Kindai U asserted control in the second, cruising to a 25-17 win and positioning themselves for a straight-sets sweep.
In the third set, the Japanese squad came out blazing, jumping to a 10-2 lead behind 6-foot-7 opposite spiker Ryutaro Aun and reigning Spikers’ Turf Press Corps Player of the Week Haruka Misugi.
Kindai University’s streak will face its toughest challenge yet when it goes up against defending champion Cignal tomorrow at the Ynares Center Montalban.
“We’ve watched Cignal and we know they are strong, but we’re from Japan and we want to show Japanese pride and take the win tomorrow,” Mitsuyama said.
Meanwhile, UST-Gameville, playing without main spikers Josh Ybañez, JJ Macam, and Al-Bukharie Sali due to Alas Pilipinas duties, fell to 0-3 in the round-robin semifinals.
The Golden Spikers will aim for their first victory when they face another winless squad, ProVolley Academy of Australia, tomorrow.
All games are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, as well as streamed through the Pilipinas Live app, which offers video-on-demand options. Matches can also be watched via spikersturf.ph.
