3 weeks ago
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MANILA, Philippines — Cignal closed out its preliminary-round campaign on a high note in routing Akari, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21, yesterday in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.
Vanie Gandler powered her way to 15 points while Rose Doria-Aquino and Ishie Lalongisip chipped in 12 and 10 hits, respectively, as the HD Spikers took the win that assured them of No. 3 windup with an 8-3 record.
PLDT and Choco Mucho can catch up if they win their final assignments. Even then, Cignal is taking No. 3 due to a superior FIVB tiebreak score.
The win also gave Cignal the needed boost and confidence entering the playoff or qualifying round, set to start Feb. 27, where it will tackle the No. 10 squad.
“Ito talaga target namin, maka No. 3,” said Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos, whose charges are on a three-win streak.
For Gandler, it was a collective team effort.
“Super proud of the team even though we had a lot of challenges this year, it was really a total team effort,” she said.
The Chargers, meanwhile, will end up in the middle of the pack after stumbling to a 5-6 slate.
Delos Santos found it important to get more than a week of preparation for the bigger battles ahead.
“Importante talaga pahinga at more time to prepare,” he said.
The HD Spikers are hoping to hurdle their qualifying round opponent in a bid to go straight to the best-of-three quarterfinals for a shot at the four-team, single-round-robin semis.
The top two in that short semis will figure in a best-of-three showdown for the crown.
From the opening serve, Cignal dictated the pace with its aggressive net play and superior ball distribution.
On the defensive end, Cignal’s blockers turned the net into an impenetrable wall. Their six blocks doubled Akari’s total, frustrating the Chargers’ main scorers and limiting them to inefficient attacking angles.
