Cignal punches last semis ticket

Cignal completed the semifinals cast after storming past winless Gerflor, 25-22, 25-11, 25-10, to end the elimination round of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The HD Spikers brushed off an early rust from more than a week of layoff before taking care of business to advance to the next round as the no. 3 seed.

Cignal tied Chery Tiggo with an 8-3 win-loss record but took the higher seeding due to better match points earned, 25-22. The HD Spikers will face the No. 2 seed Choco Mucho in the best-of-three semifinals starting Thursday.

Unbeaten Creamline and Chery Tiggo will face off in the other semis pairing

Ces Molina and Gen Casugod led Cignal with nine points each while Vanie Gandler and Jovelyn Gonzaga had eight and seven markers, respectively, in the 78-minute volleyball clinic.

Although the HD Spikers went up against a team that had lost all of its 11 games in the season-ending conference, Molina said they treated it like a must-win match.

"I think this is the time that we cannot be complacent because going into the semis we'll be facing tougher games. We're really preparing for the semis," Molina, who had eight excellent receptions, said.

Cignal had to overhaul an early deficit in the first set before getting their rhythm going for the walk in the park win.

Danika Gendrauli finished with nine while Shang Berte had eight points for the Defenders, who had a forgettable maiden season after losing 16 games overall since the Invitational Conference.