BRYAN Bagunas was held to another single digit output, while Marck Espejo sat out for the third straight game due to a minor shoulder injury as their teams got swept by separate foes in Japan V.League on Sunday.
Sakai asserted its mastery of Bagunas and Oita Miyoshi, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19, at the Fukuoka Prefectural Kurume Sports Center.
Yuki Higuchi led the Blazers with 16 points including three blocks. Shanon Vernon-Evans and Naoya Takano had 10 points each as Sakai improved to 15-5 and stayed in a three-way tie on top with Suntory and Toray.
Oita Miyoshi suffered its third staright loss and dropped to 4-16.
Bagunas was limited to eight points, nailing only five of his 24 spike attempts and making three blocks.
Kota Yamada led the Weisse Adler with 13 points from 10 attacks, two aces and a block, while Emerson Rodriguez added 11.
Suntory wins in straight sets over FC Tokyo
Meanwhile, Russian import Dmitry Muserskiy poured 28 points as Suntory beat Espejo-less FC Tokyo, 36-34, 25-18, 25-15, at the Sumida Ward General Gymnasium.
Muserskiy dropped 26 attacks and two blocks to keep the Sunbirds on top after completing a weekend sweep on Tokyo.
FC Tokyo slid to 6-14. Yanagimachi Itta and Jonas Kvalen led FC TOkyo with 12 points each. Espejo was in street clothes for the third straight match.
Espejo joined Bagunas’ Instagram live and bared said he has had a recurring injury since 2018.
The FC Tokyo import said he’ll return action next week when they take on JTEKT (11-9) at the Kariya City Gymnasium.
Bagunas and Oita Miyoshi battle Nagoya (10-6) next weekend at the Cycle Shop Kodama Osu Arena before he and Espejo collide on February 5 and 6.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
