MANILA, Philippines – St. National University On Saturday at Paco Arena, Elena star Nico Almendras received the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference MVP award. The Nationals try to sweep the Cignal HD Spikers in the men’s semi professional league in Game 2 of the Finals, and Almendras raised his first MVP trophy just before the game.

The 23-year-old spiker led NU in the three-game semifinal sweep and tallied 20 points in the opening game of the championship. He finished second in spiking with a 46.48% attack rate and was the fourth-highest scorer in the eliminations with a total of 78 points in six games. 

Joshua Retamar, the captain of NU-Sta Elena, took home the Best Setter prize after finishing second in the elimination rounds with 4.95 top-notch sets per frame. With 0.67 blocks per set from a total of 14 kill blocks in the first round, he is also shockingly the third best blocker.

Marck Espejo, a star for Cignal, won the award for Best Outside Hitter, and Ben San Andres, the top scorer for VNS-One Alicia, won Best Outside Spiker.

Ysay Marasigan, a former Open Conference MVP, was recognized as the Best Opposite Spiker as his club, Cignal, attempted to even the series and force a Tuesday championship game. 

The first-best middle blocker award went to Congolese student-athlete Obed Mukaba of NU, and the second-best was given to JP Bugaoan of Cignal. 

Manuel Sumanguid, a defensive specialist for the HD Spikers, was named the conference’s top libero. 

Cignal received four awards whilst NU-Sta Elena received three individual honors.

Sta. Elena provided a sneak preview of what the collegiate volleyball season will bring. 

The Nationals, who played more composedly as the stakes rose, prevailed in Game 2 at Paco Arena on Saturday, winning 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, and 25-23 to sweep Cignal HD and win the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference championship.

With a kill that slipped by two defenders as NU-Sta, Michaelo Buddin concluded his Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) performance. Cignal’s dominance in men’s volleyball was ended by Elena. 

Before Spikers’ Turf was discontinued owing to the coronavirus epidemic, the HD Spikers won both the Reinforced and Open conferences in 2019. 

Jau Umandal, the league’s leading scorer, didn’t play much for the Sealions, but his teammates stepped up, and Ronniel Rosales scored 15 points to lead the charge as they overcame the Griffins in an hour and fifty minutes. 

Navy captain Greg Dolor scored 13 points to end the series after a victory last Thursday of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-21. With a combined 12 points, Peter Quiel and Joeven Dela Vega helped their team place first in the competition. Dolor said in Filipino, “Even though we only had two months to prepare, our team is proud of how hard we battled all the way to the finish. Particularly since Navy has been playing in the league for a while, but it never managed to win the championship.”

NU can now turn its attention to the UAAP volleyball warfare, where the team, who will resume using its Bulldogs nickname, will be the favorite for the championship, after crushing the elimination stage and sweeping the semifinals.

NU dismantled a Cignal team led by players like Marck Espejo and Ysay Marasigan in the tournament MVP Nico Almendras, Buddin, Ken Malinis, and best setter Ave Retamar, proving that it can fight with the best in men’s volleyball. Game 1 of the best-of-three series was won by NU by scores of 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, and 25-18. 

In game two, Almendras scored 18 points, while Buddin scored 22. PGJC-Navy earned the bronze medal at the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference after defeating VNS-One Alicia on Saturday at Paco Arena by scores of 26-28, 25-18, 25-16, and 25-23.

Dolor said in Filipino, “Even though we only had two months to prepare, our team is proud of how hard we battled all the way to the finish. Particularly since Navy has been playing in the league for a while, but it never managed to win the championship.”