Cignal HD Spikers in the PVL Invitationals. –PVL PHOTO
STA. ROSA, LAGUNA—Left out in most pretournament hype in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference, Cignal on Thursday night showed just why its HD Spikers should be in the conversation among heavyweights.
Coming close to blowing a two-set lead with the enemy suddenly getting razor-sharp, the HD Spikers took all that powerhouse Creamline could dish out before carving out a 25-21, 26-24, 14-25, 25-22 victory that sealed their place in the semifinals at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex here.
The HD Spikers put an ugly third set loss behind and roared back from 19-15 down in the fourth, with gutsy playmaker Gel Cayuna responsible for the final four points that formally announced Cignal’s coming as a tournament force with a fourth straight win for the solo lead.
Medical clearance
“Thank you, Lord for this win. We’re so proud of our players since we faced the defending champions,” Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos, who praised Cayuna who was only able to play after getting a medical clearance from team physicians.
“We’re so happy with this big win because we respect Creamline so much,” he said.Ces Molina scored 15 points and Rachel Anne Daquis also shone as they kept the HD Spikers in the thick of things just when the Cool Smashers seemed headed to taking the game into a deciding set.
Creamline took its first loss in dating back to the PVL bubble finals last year flush in the chin despite getting 21 points from Tots Carlos and 13 from Jema Galanza. The Cool Smashers dropped to 2-1 here, tied with two other teams for second.
Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo stayed mathematically in the hunt for a seat in the semifinals after showing Petro Gazz the door, 25-22, 25-14, 25-21, in the first game.
Setter Alina Bicar shone in her first start, dishing out 13 excellent sets as four Crossovers scored in twin digits that boosted the Crossovers to a 53-38 edge in the attacks department which proved critical in their first win in four games.