Heavyweights clash in Sta. Rosa
Games today:
(Sta. Rosa Sports Complex) 2:30 p.m. — Petro Gazz vs Chery Tiggo 5:30 p.m. — Cignal vs Creamline
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) holds its only out-of-town game in the Invitational Conference in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Thursday featuring a pair of crucial matches headlined by a clash of the league’s only unbeaten teams.
The hold of the solo lead isn’t only what is at stake in the 5:30 p.m. encounter at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex but also at least a tie for the last semifinal berth with Cignal HD gunning for a fourth straight victory and Creamline seeking to extend its own run to three.
Meanwhile, Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo knock each other out in the 2:30 p.m. opener with the Angels reeling from a five-set setback to the High Speed Hitters last Tuesday and the Crossovers dropping their first three matches in straight-set fashions.
I don’t consider our team as one of the strongest.
The HD Spikers and the Cool Smashers are coming into the match full of energy and enthusiasm, having taken a break in last Tuesday’s playdate with one expected to come up with new ploys or combinations to startle the other.
Whatever, a battle royale looms between two of the league’s highly regarded teams that didn’t cross paths in the recent Open Conference.
They were actually headed for title collision after dominating their respective brackets from the eliminations to the quarters.
While the HD Spikers lost steam and yielded to the Petro Gazz Angels, the Cool Smashers went on to foil the Choco Mucho Flying Titans and down the Angels in the finals.
Cignal is again off to a fine start in the mid-season. But this time, coach Shaq de los Santos has guaranteed a tougher, stronger crew ready to do battle against the best of the best.
Still, he has opted to downplay their chances, much more their combination of streak that included a four-set win over Army, a five-set escape over Choco Mucho and a virtual stroll over Chery Tiggo.
“I don’t consider our team as one of the strongest. But we have to stay focused on every game. Despite our victories, there’s still a lot to improve in our system, it’s a process,” said De los Santos, who boasts of such talents in Ces Molina, Rachel Anne Daquis, Roselyn Doria, Ria Meneses, Claudine Troncoso, Angeli Araneta, Klarisa Abriam, Jerrili Malabanan, Arielle Estranero and Gel Cayuna.
De los Santos’ counterpart, Sherwin Meneses, has Cignal on his mind even before the start of the conference, saying: “Cignal is one of the strongest teams in the conference that’s why we must prepare.”
“With an intact roster from the last conference, they already have a system,” Meneses added.
So do the Cool Smashers, who have been together for so long, netting them four championships in a remarkable four-year campaign, including in the Open Conference last April.
They have never tasted defeat since posting an eight-game sweep of the Open, their first in PVL’s pro era, with Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Alyssa Valdez, Risa Sato, Pangs Panaga, Celine Domingo, Kyle Negrito and playmaker Jia de Guzman eager to stretch that run further.