PLDT wears down Cignal, enters semis
Four unyielding aspirants. Two remaining semifinal tickets. A final chance to grab them.
Deadlocked pair NLEX and Magnolia and heated rivals Meralco and Barangay Ginebra engage in a fierce battle of wills as they settle the score in today’s PBA Philippine Cup double quarterfinal sudden deaths.
The Road Warriors and the Hotshots go at it one last time in the 4:30 p.m. tussle at the MOA Arena with the winner advancing to the best-of-seven affair against early semifinalist TNT.
The Bolts and the Gin Kings mix it up a third time at 6:30 p.m. for the right to face the waiting San Miguel Beer next.
Carrying win-once bonuses, the topseeded Beermen and the No. 2 Tropang Giga got to the Final Four quickly after dispatching seventh-ranked Blackwater and No. 7 Converge, respectively, last Wednesday.
NLEX and Ginebra foiled the plans of Game 1 victors Magnolia and Meralco to sweep their race-to-two quarterfinals disputes last Friday, setting up an explosive double dose of you-or-me encounters.
Gin Kings coach Tim Cone expects a dogfight versus the Bolts – much like the first two games of the series and four other previous post-elims entanglements over the years.
“It wouldn’t be a Meralco-Ginebra series if it wouldn’t go to a critical Game 3. This is just the way our series has been: Down to the wire, tooth and nail, every one of them, even when Justin (Brownlee) is here,” said Cone, whose charges have the numbers of the Bolts in playoffs meetings.”
For Cone, the KO match “is going to come down to the will of the team.”
“I was pleasantly surprised we’re able to match their (Meralco’s) will last Friday,” Cone said after Ginebra’s 94-87 Game 2 equalizer.
PLDT Home Fibr got the big breaks and took advantage of the absences of several key Cignal players yesterday in carving out a 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 2522 win that sealed its semis entry in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Mika Reyes and Fiona Ceballos fired 14 and 13 points, respectively, that earned the Power Hitters a place in the next phase after finishing the elimination round with a 4-2 record.
They will join their sister club in Cignal, Creamline and foreign squads King Whales of Taipei and Kobe Shinwa of Japan in the semis.
The six-team, single-round semis will begin Tuesday also at the San Juan venue.
The HD Spikers played initially with only seven players in Riri Meneses, Gel Cayuna, Angeli Araneta, Jacqueline Acuna, Klarisa Abriam, Jheck Dionela and Bia General, a libero who was forced to play spiker.
Maris Layug arrived just before the third set started straight from her graduation at University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Missing were skipper Rachel Anne Daquis, Jerrili Malabanan, Roselyn Doria, Ayel Estranero and Chai Troncoso due to undisclosed reasons.
Ces Molina was in the venue but did not play due to a sprained ankle she sustained in their last game.
Despite playing with just eight players, Cignal put up a valiant stand and even managed to snatch a set before eventually succumbing and absorbing their second defeat against four triumphs.
Earlier, Creamline smashed Army Black Mamba, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16, to finish the elimination round with the best record of 5-1.
Alyssa Valdez paced the Cool Smashers with 15 points while contributing 11 digs in dealing the Lady Troopers their third loss against the same number of wins.
Tots Carlos, who is on course to bagging her second straight MVP award, chipped in 13 while Jema Galanza added 11 hits.
In the third game, Petro Gazz played the spoiler’s role and eliminated Choco Mucho with a 2826, 25-21, 25-16 victory.
The Angels closed out their campaign with a 2-4 record, the same slate by the heartbroken Flying Titans.
The stunning win gave Army Black Mamba a free pass to the semis.
Choco Mucho was hoping to win this one by at least four sets to catch up on Army at fourth.