Savouge Aesthetics notched the biggest victory in franchise history, toppling defending champion Cignal in straight sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-18, to remain unbeaten in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference semifinals on Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Spin Doctors’ triumph was fueled by a collective heroics and a tactical masterstroke from head coach Sydney Calderon, who outsmarted the Super Spikers in a tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Alpha Insurance, Premiere EMS, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things, Black Mamba, and Arena Plus.
Calderon made a bold move by shifting Mark Calado to the opposite spiker position, opening the other outside hitter slot for team captain Hero Austria while retaining Shawie Caritativo in her usual role.
The gamble paid off: Calado hammered 12 points in the upset, with Austria and Caritativo providing key support.
“Gutom kasi lahat manalo ‘yung team ko. Ang goal namin, sabi ko, kung gusto natin pumasok sa Finals, hindi madali ‘yun kasi knowing Cignal being the defending champion, Criss Cross being the first runner-up for how many conferences na, then Kindai maganda rin ang nilalaro. So kung gusto namin mag Finals, kailangan mag-level up ‘yung play namin. Happy naman ako, sobrang ganado sila maglaro,” Calderon said.
With a perfect 3-0 record, tied with Japanese guest team Kindai atop the standings, Savouge eyes its first-ever Finals appearance tomorrow against Criss Cross at the Ynares Center Montalban.
Cignal initially held the upper hand in the second set, leading 19-17 late, but Savouge rallied with an 8-3 finish led by Caritativo, Giles Torres, and Madz Gampong to secure a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the Spin Doctors turned a narrow 14-13 advantage into a commanding 19-13 margin, executing five consecutive scoring sequences through Calado, Caritativo, and Torres.
This marks Savouge’s second-ever win against Cignal, the first being a thrilling five-set victory, 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-13, on October 25, 2024.
“Medyo mahirap ‘yung from open hitter to opposite, mabilis ‘yung mga pangyayari kasi kahapon lang namin pinractice ‘yun. Thankful lang ako kay God kasi na-survive ko ‘yung pagiging opposite ngayong araw, and sana magtuloy-tuloy kami hanggang sa mga susunod na games,” Calado said.
Cignal drops to 1-2 and now faces a must-win scenario tomorrow against Kindai University to keep its title defense alive.
All games are broadcast live on One Sports and One Sports+, and streamed via the Pilipinas Live app, which also offers video-on-demand. Additional live streaming is available at spikersturf.ph.
