San juan city: Thanks to setter Vince Imperial, Savouge made it to the championship round of the Spikers' Turf Open Conference. For guiding the Spin Doctors to their first Final appearance, Imperial was the unanimous choice as Spikers' Turf Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live for the period of April 8 to 12.
According to Philippines News Agency, Imperial demonstrated exceptional skill with 25 excellent sets, enabling six teammates to score in double figures during the franchise's first-ever win over Criss Cross, with scores of 25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13, at the start of the round-robin semifinals. "Since I joined Savouge, we haven't beaten Criss Cross. I've probably been to six tournaments. We haven't won, just today, so it's really exciting," said Imperial, who contributed seven points as the Spin Doctors snapped the King Crunchers' 10-game unbeaten run on April 8.
Imperial's performance continued to impress with 21 excellent sets and six points, securing Savouge's entry to the Finals after a 25-27, 25-15, 25-19, 25-16 victory over AEP Cabstars. He also achieved 12 excellent sets and two points in a 25-20, 25-15, 26-24 sweep of Alpha Insurance. "It's our first time to sweep the semifinals. We feel that our morale is very high when we reach the finals because we are undefeated and we even beat the defending champion," Imperial stated, having outperformed teammate Mark Calado, Criss Cross duo Jude Garcia and Adrian Villados, and AEP Cabstars' Jared Schnake for the recognition granted by print and online media covering the league.
The finals series between Savouge and Criss Cross is set to begin on Wednesday at the same venue in San Juan City. "Maybe my mindset is just consistency so I can deliver the right ball to my teammates. Because sometimes, it's really hard to be consistent when it comes to setting," remarked Imperial. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday, and if necessary, a winner-take-all match will be played on Sunday, concluding another intense conference streamed live and on demand via the Pilipinas Live app and on www.spikersturf.ph.
