MANILA, Philippines – Cignal locked in the third seed in the PVL All-Filipino Conference qualifying round with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Akari on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The HD Spikers ended their preliminary round with a three-game winning streak, largely thanks to Vanie Gandler’s 15-point performance. Rose Doria-Aquino also delivered, tallying 12 points from nine successful attacks and three blocks.
Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos acknowledged the dedication of the entire team, saying, “Thank you sa team, coaches and players, especially sa management, kasi talagang naga-all out din buong training and sobrang appreciate ko yung effort ng lahat.”
He added, “So siguro yung respect lang din namin sa isa’t isa. Sobrang happy kasi ito rin yung target namin na hopefully makuha talaga namin yung No. 3 [sa standings].”
Rookie Ishie Lalongisip continued to be a key contributor, scoring 10 points, while setter Gel Cayuna provided 19 excellent sets, guiding Cignal to an 8-3 record heading into the knockout stage.
Akari managed to keep up with Cignal early in the third set but struggled to maintain momentum as the HD Spikers pulled away to take a 16-12 lead. A 4-1 run, punctuated by an off-speed hit from Jov Fernandez, gave Cignal a 22-15 advantage, though Akari responded with a 4-0 surge.
In the final moments, Gandler and Faith Nisperos exchanged cross-court shots, Fernandez scored off a block, and Doria-Aquino committed a service error, making it 24-21. Jackie Acuña then sealed the match with a running kill.
Nisperos led Akari with 12 points, all from attacks.
With this defeat, Akari closed the preliminary round with a 5-6 record, suffering back-to-back losses as it awaits its final seeding for the next phase of the tournament.
Image source: pvl.ph
