Jau Umandal of Cignal attacks against UST in the 2025 Spikers' Turf Invitational Conference, November 22, 2025 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre. PVL Media
MANILA -- Jau Umandal showed out against his alma mater on Saturday, powering Cignal to a bounce back win against University of Santo Tomas in the 2025 Spikers' Turf Invitational Conference.
Behind a 26-point outing from Umandal, the Super Spikers seized a 25-17, 25-13, 26-24 sweep of the Golden Spikers at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Umandal delivered 22 attacks, two kill blocks and two aces as the Super Spikers recovered from a five-set loss to rival Criss Cross in their previous assignment. The win evened their round-robin semis record at 1-1.
"Yesterday's game was a tough loss for us," said Cignal head coach Dexter Clamor. "Especially the first set. Ang bigat ng pagkatalo namin kahapon. Even last night, most of us couldn't sleep."
Umandal also contributed six excellent receptions.
The win also gave the Super Spikers a measure of revenge after losing to UST in the elimination round.
After UST-Gameville tied the third set at 24, Umandal fired an attack off the block before Nas Gwaza unleashed a booming ace – his lone point of the match – to seal Cignal's first semifinals win after an hour and 18 minutes.
"Nag-viewing pa kami bago kami pumunta dito sa game. Wala naman kaming ibang pwedeng gawin kundi mag-move forward eh. Focus on the next game, focus on the next ball, be more specific kung anong kailangan naming gawin inside the court," said Clamor.
Steven Rotter chipped in nine points, while Jared Schnake and team captain JP Bugaoan contributed six and five, respectively. Cian Silang orchestrated the offense with 18 excellent sets, while former UST libero Van Prudenciado tallied 14 excellent receptions and five digs.
Cignal will shoot for back-to-back wins against Savouge on Monday at 3 p.m., still at Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Meanwhile, UST-Gameville dropped to 0-2, tying ProVolley Academy of Australia.
Gboy De Vega was the lone double-digit scorer for the Golden Spikers with 15 points and 18 excellent receptions, while Sherwin Umandal added eight.