Air Force, Dasma forge title face-off

LIPA CITY, Philippines — Go For Gold-Air Force Aguilas and Team Dasma Monarchs overcame gritty challenges of their respective semis foes yesterday to arrange a duel for top honors in the PNVF Champions League at the Aquamarine Recreational Center Gym here.

The Aguilas fended off Global Remit, 26-28, 25-22, 25-18, 25-19, while the Monarchs survived a grind against feisty VNS Manileño Spikers, 25-20, 30-28, 20-25, 21-25, 18-16.

Go For Gold-Air Force and Team Dasma meet at 4 p.m. today to dispute the inaugural Champions League title plus a ticket to the Asian men’s clubs championships next year.

“We stuck to our system despite a slow start. In the title match, we will work harder especially with this tournament being the first-ever Champions League,” said coach Dante Alinsunurin.

John Vic de Guzman and Lloyd Josafat hit 16 and 15 markers, respectively, while Rueben Inaudito and Kim Malabunga contributed 10 points each for the fancied Air Force.

Mark Frederick Calado, for his part, erupted for 28 points for Team Dasma.

“We played without coach Norman Miguel but we stayed calm. It’s a close match so we just stay composed. That was our mindset. We just wanted to win,” said Calado as Dasma nearly squandered a two-set lead and a 10-5 cushion in the deciding frame.

VNS Manileño and Global Remit, despite their gallant stands, have been relegated to the bronze medal match at 1:30 p.m. today.