HD Spikers, Angels begin finals series
AFTER a wild and strange round-robin SEMIfiNALS THAT GOT THE SPORTS JOURNALISTS DOING THEIR BEST MATH TO COMPUTE WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT, WE’RE fiNALLY HERE IN THE fiNALS.
Petro Gazz and Cignal finished as top two and thus are set to collide in a best-of-three Finals series of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL)
Reinforced
Conference, with Game One set today, December 1, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game time is at 5:30 p.m., with the Angels-HD Spikers series preceding Game 1 of the battle for third best-of-3 series between Creamline and Chery Tiggo. Cignal and Petro Gazz finished with identical 2-1 records and had six points each after the round-robin semis. The HD Spikers got to the Big Dance first as they clinched a finals ticket after winning the third set, 27-25, in their semifinals match against Petro Gazz last Tuesday when the Angels actually won the match in four, 25-14, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19.
The third set win enabled Cignal to have a superior set ratio over Petro Gazz and Creamline regardless of how its game against the Angels panned out.
On the other hand, the Angels’ failure to sweep the HD Spikers had them waiting for the result of the Cool Smashers-Crossovers contest.
Petro Gazz needed Creamline, then carrying a 1-1 record, to lose so it can finish as top two in terms of win-loss record or the Cool Smashers to win but in five sets so the Angels can beat them in points, 6-5.
The second scenario happened as Creamline’s 25-16, 2025, 14-25, 2511, 15-9 loss keyed Petro Gazz entry to the finals.
It was definitely a disappointment for the Cool Smashers who needed to win in three or four sets to make the Finals and keep their Grand Slam bid alive. For Petro Gazz coach Rald Ricafort, reaching the finals was such a rollercoaster experience.
“It’s a tearjerker [us getting to the finals]. Our chances to make the Finals were out of our control [after losing a set to Cignal]. We just really prayed because that’s all that we can do,” said Ricafort.