Cignal, Philips try to keep top spots in PSL

Cignal and Philips Gold try to firm up their hold of the 1-2 spots as they take on separate rivals today in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

The HD Spikers gun for a fourth straight win against the Foton side at 6:15 p.m. while the Lady Slammers hope to pounce on a struggling RC Cola-Air Force squad in the 4:15 p.m. opener.

Cignal has surprised the field with a hot start fashioned out in convincing styles while Philips Gold dropped its opening game to the league leader before scoring back-to-back triumphs over reigning champion Petron and Meralco for a 2-1 card.

Not far behind are the Tornadoes and the Raiders at 1-1 while the Power Spikers remain winless in five games in the tournament presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Mikasa, Senoh and Mueller as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster.

But the HD Spikers expect a tough challenge from the Tornadoes, who are out to bounce back from a sorry 25-21, 20-25, 13-25, 25-12, 9-15 setback to the Blaze Spikers last week.

Cignal coach Sammy Acaylar said all teams are on equal footing and everybody is capable of pulling a surprise.

He also downplayed speculations that they are the team to beat, saying they are still working on their chemistry since most of them are new to the system.

Ariel Usher, the blonde and charming former University of Portland star who has normed 28.8 points per game, will again serve as the focal point of offense while Amanda Anderson will anchor the defensive end in the middle position together with veteran Michelle Laborte, Cherry Vivas, April Ross Hingpit and rookie Fritz Gallenero.

Also expected to draw another big weekday crowd is the battle between Philips Gold and RC Cola-Air Force.

Slowly gaining a solid throng of followers due to their fast plays, booming smashes and great defensive efforts, the Lady Slammers unleashed yet another monster performance down in eking out a pulsating 25-19, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23 win over the Power Spikers last Tuesday.