The Galeries Tower is still over the moon following its gigantic upset of powerhouse Cignal in the qualifying round of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference last Thursday at the Philsports Arena.

Highrisers head coach Lerma Giron said their trust and belief in each other served as the key to their biggest victory since joining the league as an expansion team two years ago.

With that, the Highrisers marched to their first ever quarterfinal appearance despite finishing 10th in the preliminaries after posting only a single win in 11 matches.

Giron tagged their win as a “milestone,” something that her players will cherish for the rest of their careers.

“Yeah, this is a milestone for us — the team, the players, and the coaches. I’m just really grateful. From Day One, when we started, I had full trust in the players I brought in and in what we had as a team. Even though we don’t have the big-name stars in volleyball, we believed in ourselves,” said Giron following their 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19 triumph that relegated the third-seed HD Spikers to the play-in phase for the last two quarterfinal spot.

“One of our main goals has always been to work as a team. Even if our top player isn’t the highest scorer, what truly matters is team effort. That has always been our ultimate goal — to play as one unit.”

Nothing went right for the HD Spikers during that fateful match.

After falling behind in the first two sets, Cignal showed signs of life in the third before gamely challenging the Highrisers in the fourth to avert getting upset.

But luck wasn’t on their side as Jovelyn Fernandez suffered an apparent neck injury after colliding with teammate Ishie Lalongisip in the fourth set. Fernandez was carted off on a stretcher and brought to nearby hospital, leaving Cignal with a gaping hole on the defensive end.

Still, Giron refused to stay complacent, saying that their mission of winning their breakthrough title is still far from done.

“We still can’t afford to be complacent,” said Giron, whose squad will face the winner between Akari and Farm Fresh in the quarterfinals on 5 March.

“In a way, this is what we wanted. Our opponents are the top six teams. They know it, too — we have to stand our ground. We’ve fought our way to this stage, and we know where we’re headed next. The next level will be extremely challenging, and we can no longer afford to be inconsistent.”

“We have to commit to this. And I believe in our players. Our team, even our coaches — we are all in. Even if we have to shed blood and sweat again, we’re here now. And this is exactly what we wanted. So, by God’s grace, we will stand our ground.”