Criss Cross is still perfect in the 2026 Spikers' Turf Invitational Conference. The defending champion fended off Alpha Insurance 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 on Sunday night at the Filoil EcoOil Centre, pushing the Criss Cross winning streak to three games.
Jude Garcia did the heavy lifting with 22 points, and the King Crunchers improved to 3-0 in the tournament organized by Sports Vision. That record puts them in a three-way tie for first place with National University-Archipelago Builders and ClearSky.
This one didn't need a dramatic comeback. Criss Cross took the opener, dropped the second set 21-25, then answered with 25-21 and 25-19 to close it out.
Jude Garcia keeps the Criss Cross winning streak rolling
Garcia finished with 21 attacks and one block, a few nights after dropping 25 points on Savouge. The five-time MVP has been the constant in an offense that keeps finding different answers.
He was quick to spread the credit around afterward. "It's still a total team effort, because whoever gets put on the court really contributes — they do each other's roles," Garcia said.
"That's what's good about our team: whoever Coach Tai pulls off the bench delivers. I'm so thankful to my teammates, to management, and to the coaches."
The numbers back him up. Amil Pacinio added 16 points on 15 attacks and an ace, while Ariel Cacao gave the offense a jolt off the bench with 20 excellent sets.
Kim Malabunga chipped in nine points in relief, and Noel Kampton and Lloyd Josafat had six apiece. That's four players outside the main gun doing real damage — the kind of spread that makes a title defense look less like a one-man show.
Alpha Insurance wins the net battle, loses the error count
Read the stat sheet and you'd think the Protectors had a real shot at the upset. They out-blocked Criss Cross 9-8 and crushed them on service aces 6-1. Criss Cross held the attack edge at 59-51.
So where did it slip? Errors. Alpha Insurance gave away 28 of them, and Criss Cross stayed composed enough to cash in on the free points.
A 6-1 ace advantage and a 9-8 block edge will keep you in most matches. Hand back 28 rallies, though, and the team with more attacking volume usually makes you pay.
Axel Van Book was excellent in defeat with 21 points and 15 excellent receptions. Reymark Betco added 14 points and Vince Himzon had 10, but the supporting numbers couldn't cover the giveaway rate.
Spikers' Turf standings tighten at the top and in the middle
Criss Cross, NU-Archipelago Builders and ClearSky all sit at 3-0. Nobody has blinked yet, which makes the next batch of games a genuine sorting-out moment.
Alpha Insurance, meanwhile, has now lost two straight and slid into a four-way tie for fifth to eighth with Savouge, 3B and AEP-Cabstars. All four teams are 1-2.
For the Protectors, the gap between 1-2 and 2-1 is small but real. Clean up the errors and that block-and-serve edge starts winning matches instead of decorating box scores.
Criss Cross faces NU next, Alpha Insurance meets AEP-Cabstars
Criss Cross gets an immediate test of that unbeaten record: NU on November 4 at 1 p.m. at the same venue, the Filoil EcoOil Centre. Two 3-0 teams, one of them leaving with a loss.
Alpha Insurance plays AEP-Cabstars later that day at 3 p.m., with both sides hunting a reset in the standings.
The original report on this match appears at tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
