Requinton shines as Criss Cross nears title
After playing sparingly in Criss Cross’ 10-game sweep of the elimination round, old reliable Jaron Requinton rose to the occasion to put the King Crunchers on the cusp of winning a second straight championship in the 2026 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
Jude Garcia may have been nearly unstoppable with 26 points, but it was Requinton who spelled the difference with 18 points to deliver the Game 1 win for Criss Cross, which torched Savouge, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 25-20, on Wednesday at the Filoil Centre.
Requinton saw a limited role this conference, with the rise of newcomer Alche Gupiteo. But with their starting outside spiker dealing with a minor shoulder injury, the 25-year-old King Cruncher stepped up when it mattered most.
“It’s really about what’s best for the team. Anyone who gets in will deliver, so we just have to stay ready, especially as second-stringers. I’ve also talked to people to help strengthen my mindset about not always being on the court,” said Requinton in Filipino.
“But they always remind me that this isn’t an individual sport, it’s a team effort. If one wins, we all win. So there’s no negative effect whether we play or not.”
‘Happy, happy’
Requinton powered Criss Cross’ bounce-back win over Savouge after the Spin Doctors beat them in five sets in the semifinals and ended their 10-game unbeaten run.
The former University of Santo Tomas beach and indoor volleyball player was proud of how his team has been playing for each other and having fun under coach Tai Bundit while staying competitive in practice and games.
“[E]ven the players on the bench were fully supporting us on the court. I’m also happy with how we played and the energy we showed because everything we worked on over the past two days really came out in this game,” said Requinton.
“That’s actually Coach Tai’s mantra—‘happy, happy.’ It’s not just something we shout; we really have to show it on the court. And you can see it works. When we’re happy, we don’t get tense and we don’t think about negativity. It leads to more positive results in how we play.”
Criss Cross looks to close out the series on Friday at the same venue in San Juan at 5 p.m.
“We’ll study Savouge more, even if we only have one day to prepare. But more than anything, we need fast recovery because it’s really about endurance now. With just one day of rest, we still have to go all out in Game 2,” said Requinton. “We also need to keep our bodies strong to avoid injuries and make sure we can perform even better.”
