Defeat Garuda Jaya, Samator the third champion of the 2026 Proliga

YOGYAKARTA - Surabaya Samator emerged as the third champion of the 2026 Proliga men's. When playing the third leg which became the decisive match at GOR Amongrogo, Yogyakarta, Thursday, April 23, 2026 WIB, Samator successfully defeated Jakarta Garuda Jaya 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20).

Samator has to play the third match after being forced to surrender Garuda Jaya 3-2 in the second leg. The defeat made the aggregate of the two teams 1-1 and the certainty of the team in third place must be settled in the last fight.

In the match, Samator showed maximum performance and did not lose a set. This victory makes Jordan Michael et al ahead 2-1 aggregate and officially won the title of third place in the highest volleyball competition in Indonesia.

Even though he won three sets, Samator had trouble dealing with Garuda Jaya who immediately gassed up since the whistle was blown. Even the pressure from Garuda Jaya made Samator fall behind quite a bit at the start of the set with a score of 3-8.

However, calmness is the key for this team from Surabaya. Samator slowly managed to cut the number gap to 12-13 before finally turning ahead 15-13. They were unstoppable and the first set was closed with a score of 25-19.

Entering the second set, Samator who was getting hotter did not give room for Garuda Jaya to develop. Quickly ahead 9-4, Hadi Suharto and Tedy Oka, Hendrik, performed solidly in front of the net to stop the attack of Dawuda et al. Moreover, Garuda Jaya players often made attack errors which made them further behind with a score of 9-16.

The team coached by Rodolfo Sanchez who played more tactically and minimal mistakes continued to widen the margin of the score to 23-15. They also did not encounter any significant difficulty to secure the second set with a score of 25-17.

On the brink, Garuda Jaya tried to rise in the third set. There was a chase for points from the beginning of the match until the twin score of 5-5. Garuda Jaya gave hope to his supporters when he turned 12-11 ahead.

The match turned into high tension when both teams retaliated points to a score of 18-18. Samator's mental maturity was tested again at crucial points.

After leading 21-19, Samator continued to pressure the opponent's defense which began to waver. The final blow from Samator's offensive line finally ended Garuda Jaya's resistance with a score of 25-20.

Responding to the last match, Garuda Jaya coach Nur Widayanto said the players were still often carried away when their teammates made mistakes.

"We actually started the set very well. But when a player makes a mistake, everyone follows," said Nur Widayanto.

On the other hand, the opposing team is growing. They are able to get out of the pressure and show the best performance. "Their block is very good. On the other hand, we made a lot of mistakes so we ended up losing," said Widayanto.

Meanwhile, Samator manager Hadi Sampurno showed satisfaction for being able to complete the third leg with a victory. "Finally we were able to make up for yesterday's results. This time, the players performed quite well," said Hadi Sampurno.

One of Samator's players, Hadi Suharto, admitted that the team's game was calmer, "In the previous match, we played grusa-grusu and were less calm. This time we played more calmly," said Hadi Suharto.

For this achievement, Samator received a coaching prize of IDR 150 million, while for the fourth place was IDR 100 million.

Grand Final I schedule, Friday, April 24, 2026:

15.00 WIB: Jakarta Pertamina Enduro vs Gresik Phonska Plus Pupuk Indonesia (putri)

19.00 WIB: Jakarta LavAni Livin' Transmedia vs Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (putra)