Both Cignal and PLDT have punched their ticket to the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference Semifinals with wins over Choco Mucho and Chery Tiggo respectively on Tuesday.
Cignal were able to top the Flying Titans in straight sets; 25-15, 25-21, 25-21, outclassing their opponents in just one-hour and 43 minutes of play, proving they have the potential to make some big upsets in the back end of the tournament. The HD Spikers ended the preliminaries with three straight victories, finishing with a 4-1 record, while the Flying Titans failed to make it past the semifinals for the fourth straight conference with a record of 3-2.
The hyped tandem Rachel Anne Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga played a huge role in Cignal’s win, as Gonzaga set the pace with 13 points and Daquis with 12. The wily veterans will need to keep up the pace however as the competition intensifies in the Semis with the likes of powerhouse teams like Creamline and F2 Logistics.
PLDT had a much closer affair, just inching out a victory in a three-and-a-half-hour thriller, 25-21,16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 15-12. The match came down to some heroics by Mean Mendrez and Dell Palomata in the fifth set, scoring on consecutive attempts to give the High Speed Hitters a 13-11 advantage. They were then able to capitalize on the momentum, as Palomata and Mendrez came through once again, denying Hernandez and Eya Laure, respectively, to clinch the victory.
Mendrez ended the game scoring a team-high 16 points on 13 attacks with three blocks while Palomata was able to tally 14 points. Michelle Morente also added 12 points along with 11 receptions while Fiolla Ceballos registered 10 markers and 16 receptions. The High Speed Hitters enter the semis with the second seed in Pool A, completing the preliminary round 3-1.
The back and forth affair for the last Semi spot could have gone either way with Mylene Paat scoring a whopping 29 points in the loss. Pauline Gaston helped out, delivering 16 points on 12 attacks as well as three blocks.The 2-2 Crossovers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive conference despite the huge effort.
Joining PLDT and Cignal are the Cargo Movers who thumped Foton, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14, to lock in the first Pool B semis slot. Ivy Lacsina and Majoy Baron dominated for F2, forming a 1-2 punch that scored 16 and 12 points respectively, as the Cargo Movers bounced back from a five-set loss to Petro Gazz.
Semi Finals Schedule
The Semi Finals of the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference will be headlined by 6 teams: Creamline, F2 Logistics, Cignal, PLDT and two foreign squads. The matches are set to start on Thursday the 20th and go on until Friday the 28th. The Finals will be played on Sunday July 30th.
Below is a full list of matches set to be played over the next week.
Thursday, July 20th
- PLDT HOME FIBR HIGH SPEED HITTERS vs CIGNAL HD SPIKERS (4:00 pm)
- F2 LOGISTICS CARGO MOVERS vs CREAMLINE COOL SMASHERS (6:30 pm)
Saturday, July 22nd
- F2 LOGISTICS CARGO MOVERS vs PLDT HOME FIBR HIGH SPEED HITTERS (11:30 am)
- CREAMLINE COOL SMASHERS vs CIGNAL HD SPIKERS (4:00 pm)
- KINH BAC-BAC NINH WOMENS vs KURASHIKI ABLAZE (6:30 pm)
Monday, July 24th
- KURASHIKI ABLAZE vs CIGNAL HD SPIKERS (4:00 pm)
- PLDT HOME FIBR HIGH SPEED HITTERS vs KINH BAC-BAC NINH WOMENS (6:30 pm)
Tuesday, July 25th
- KINH BAC-BAC NINH WOMENS vs CREAMLINE COOL SMASHERS (4:00 pm)
- F2 LOGISTICS CARGO MOVERS vs KURASHIKI ABLAZE (6:30 pm)
Thursday, July 27th
- PLDT HOME FIBR HIGH SPEED HITTERS vs KURASHIKI ABLAZE (4:00 pm)
- KINH BAC-BAC NINH WOMENS vs CIGNAL HD SPIKERS (6:30 pm)
