Cignal eyes semifinal berth, battles Cocolife

Cignal shoots for a semifinal slot against a Cocolife team that got a recent momentum boost even as Sta. Lucia searches for its first win in a packed doubleheader of the Belo-Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference Saturday at Muntinlupa Sports Complex.

The HD Spikers are coming from a 26-24, 23-25, 26-24, 25-14 triumph over the Generika-Ayala Life Savers late Thursday when they nailed their third win in the tournament and kept them behind unbeaten league-leader Petron.

Cignal’s Jovelyn Gonzaga, Honey Royse Tubino, Rachel Anne Daquis and Cherry Vivas stepped up against a tough challenge put up by a gutsy Generika-Ayala squad all night, allowing the squad to pull through.

Gonzaga fired 13 points, Tubino contributed 12, while Daquis and Vivas each added 10 markers for the HD Spikers.

With a victory against Cocolife, Cignal could clinch the second semifinal berth after Petron. The top three teams after the classification phase would join Japanese squad Kobe Shinwa in the semifinals.

But the last thing Cignal can expect is for the win to be handed on a silver platter.

While Cocolife may be a new squad still trying to find its identity and cohesion in the tournament, the team is riding on the crest of its breakthrough win in the PSL after defeating Sta. Lucia also on Thursday.

That victory could give the Asset Managers the confidence to battle the HD Spikers on even terms in the 7 p.m. game.

“This is a good start for us, hopefully we sustain it and win some more matches,” said Cocolife coach Obet Javier in Filipino.

The Life Savers, meanwhile, can’t afford to lose against Sta. Lucia in the 5 p.m. match if they want to catch up with the idle Foton Tornadoes for the last semifinal slot.