Photo taken from Philippine Superliga’s Facebook account
For Cignal coach Sammy Acaylar, a sweep of their elimination games means nothing if the HD Spikers do not win the championship.
Though he is not downplaying his wards’ torrid 5-0 start, Acaylar said their goal is to capture the title for the franchise in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament.
Cignal tries to further bolster its campaign when it tackles defending champion Petron at 6:15 p.m. at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
“We can’t be complacent. I’m sure that after the first round, the other teams will adjust and prepare against us,” said Acaylar, who steers a well-oiled machine led by high-scoring imports Ariel Usher and Amanda Anderson.
In the opening match, Foton and RC Cola try to end their first-round campaign on a high note when they clash at 4:15 p.m.
Making things more interesting is the league’s testing of its brand-new video challenge device. The cutting-edge technology—to be used for the first time in an Asian league— involves 24 cameras that will trace each shot and serve to sort out questionable calls.
The system will be fully implemented in Thursday’s games.
“It’s going to be a game-changer,” said PSL president Ramon “Tats” Suzara. “The PSL is investing in this kind of technology to maintain the beauty of the game. This is our contribution to uplift the state of volleyball here.”
The technology, put in use in FIVB and AVC tournaments starting last year, cost the league P5 million.