Daily TribuneAngels, Crossovers, High Speed Hitters seek crucial wins
Jonah Sabete will provide the spiking prowess as Petro Gazz meets Galeries Tower in a crucial encounter Saturday in the PVL All-Filipino Conference in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Photograph by Joey Sanchez Mendoza for the Daily Tribune @tribunephl_joey
Games today
(Sta. Rosa Sports Complex)
2 p.m. —Petro Gazz vs Galeries Tower
4 p.m. — Chery Tiggo vs Akari
6 p.m. — PLDT vs Cignal
Unless they step on a banana peel on their way to the playing area, two marquee teams should encounter no problem beating their respective eliminated rivals on Saturday while it will be the opposite for another high-profile squad when the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference returns to the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.
With only four playdates left in the preliminaries, the semifinal picture remains cloudy with five teams — Choco Mucho (8-2), Creamline (8-2), Chery Tiggo (7-2), Petro Gazz (7-2) and PLDT (7-2) — all in the running for the coveted four slots.
With a 5-4 card, Cignal’s chances of salvaging a semis seat appear slim, relying on losses from the five teams in their remaining two games. In case of ties, the PVL points system will determine the semifinalists, pushing the contenders to pursue sweeps to secure crucial point ratios.
Defending champion Creamline stalled Choco Mucho’s march to the post-elims phase with a resounding straight-set win last Thursday, keeping the semis race wide open.
Following their impressive shutout victories over semis contenders last Tuesday, Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo aim for another pair of dominant performances against Galeries Tower and Akari, respectively. These wins would put them closer to claiming semis slots as they head into the final week of the prelims.
Although the Highrisers and the Chargers are out of the semis race, they go flat-out to end their campaign on a winning mode and play the role of spoilers, making their matches at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, still worth watching.
The 6 p.m. clash between PLDT and Cignal, however, promises to be fierce, with the High Speed Hitters needing to sweep their last two matches against top rivals to nail a semis ticket. However, after their defeat to the streaking Crossovers last Tuesday, the High Speed Hitters face challenges in re-assessing their game plan and determination to advance.
A victory over Cignal would keep PLDT’s semis hopes alive while eliminating the HD Spikers from the semis battle. Conversely, a loss would jeopardize PLDT’s bid for a spot in the next round.
Wins by Chery Tiggo and Petro Gazz would also automatically drop Cignal from semis contention.
