Cignal’s Ces Molina, Roselyn Doria and Jovelyn Gonzaga. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Ces Molina and Jovelyn Gonzaga powered Cignal to eliminate the winless Farm Fresh, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18, and boost their semifinal chances in Pool B in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference on Thursday at Philsports Arena.
Molina continued to show the way for the HD Spikers with 16 points, all coming from attacks out of her 30 attempts, while Gonzaga provided a solid backup with 12 points on a 10-of-20 spiking clip including two blocks.
Vanie Gandler, who only saw action in the first and third sets, made the most of her playing time as she scored most of her eight points in the final frame, putting on the finishing touches to send the Foxies to their fourth straight loss.
Cignal scored its second straight win to force a three-way tie at 3-1 with F2 Logistics and Petro Gazz as a tight race looms for the two semifinals berths in Pool B.
“Hopefully, our performance will continue to improve. We committed a lot of errors in this game but good thing, we still won,” said the HD Spikers coach Shaq Delos Santos in Filipino.
Delos Santos will face his former player Sisi Rondina when Cignal and Choco Mucho, which is currently the fourth place with a 2-1 record, on Tuesday in a crucial match.
Kate Santiago was the lone bright spot for the Foxies with 12 points and 13 excellent receptions, as Gayle Pascual was limited to just one point.
Farm Fresh will try to get the fifth place in Pool B to qualify for the classification round when it faces Foton on Saturday. The No.6 team from their group will automatically end up as the 13th-ranked squad in the tournament.