Games today:

(Philsports Arena)

4 p.m. — Cignal vs Galeries Tower

6:30 p.m. — Creamline vs Nxled

Top-seeded reigning champion Creamline aims for a quick work of cellar-dweller Nxled to secure a quarterfinals berth as the 2024-2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference knockout stage unfurls today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The five-peat-seeking Cool Smashers are fancied to slice through the Chameleons in the main match of the double-header playdate set at 6:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Cignal and Galeries Tower collide in the 4 p.m. curtain-raiser.

Winners of the first phase of the playoffs will earn quarters slots while the losers will get a final crack at the last two sports through a play-in unfolding on 6 March.

Creamline demolished Nxled, 25-12, 25-21, 25-19, in their preliminary meeting last 29 January. The Sherwin Meneses-mentored club finished the prelims with a 10-1 slate tied with Petro Gazz but still got the No. 1 rank via superior quotient.

With eyes set on another championship run, the Cool Smashers again rely on their high-scoring wings led by Most Valuable Player winners Bernadeth Pons, Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and Alyssa Valdez.

“We’ll take it one game at a time. I think one of the skills that almost everyone has to improve on is the system and blocking. We’ll continue working on our counterattacks,” Valdez said.

The decorated skipper added that they need to stay on their toes.

“We still have systems that we need to perfect. The basics — like handling free balls and soft hits — at the end of the day, we need to refine them as much as possible,” Valdez added.

“These are the minor details that will help us in the final moments of the game, and they will matter even more in tight matches. So, we’ll work on counter-attacks and handling basic balls.”

On the other hand, the Chameleons enter the qualifying round looking for redemption after a tough preliminary phase.

Nxled finished the prelims with a 1-10 card with its sole win coming from Galeries Tower.

EJ Laure, Chiara Permentilla and Lycha Ebon must step up their game to score an upset bid.

The HD Spikers, meanwhile, have remained a formidable force despite the mid-conference departure of a couple of key players. Cignal ended the opening phase with an 8-3 mark tied with Choco Mucho and PLDT.

“Physically, it’s tough for us because we’re only 12, and there’s pressure since we can’t afford to have an off-game. But that’s where teamwork comes in — when one player struggles, the rest step up,” Cignal star winger Vanie Gandler said.

Cignal coach Delos Santos emphasized the team’s unwavering commitment as their key advantage heading into the quarterfinals.

“Even though there are only 12 of us, we make the most of each other’s skills,” he said.

“It’s probably really the team’s mindset because, as I said, we need to maximize each player’s talent and skills, especially since there are only a few of us.”