Games today:
(Philsports Arena)
4 p.m. — Chery Tiggo vs Nxled
6:30 p.m. — Capital1 vs Cignal
The hunt for the remaining quarterfinal slots intensifies with Chery Tiggo and Cignal expected to bounce back after falling short in the qualifying round of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference today at the Philsports Arena.
The Crossovers will tip things off in the Play-in phase when they battle Nxled at 4 p.m. in Pool B together with Farm Fresh. Then in the second game, the HD Spikers will seek to avert another meltdown when they tackle Capital1 at 6:30 p.m. in Pool A, which also features Zus Coffee.
Already in the quarterfinals are topseed Creamline together with Petro Gazz, Choco Mucho, Akari, PLDT and the surprising Galeries Tower, which pulled off an earthshaking upset of Cignal in the qualifying round.
With that, only two quarterfinal berths are available, leaving the six remaining teams with no choice but to go all out in the Play-in phase, which follows a single round-robin format with the top teams in each pool advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Pool A winner will face Petro Gazz, while the Pool B top finisher will take on powerhouse Creamline in a best-of-three quarterfinal showdown.
Meanwhile, Akari will go head-to-head with Galeries Tower, while Choco Mucho battles PLDT in the quarterfinal matchups starting on 15 March.
All eyes, however, will be on Chery Tiggo and Cignal.
Led by veterans Ara Galang, Cess Robles, Aby Maraño, Seth Rodriguez, Pauline Gaston, Shaya Adorador, and playmaker Jasmine Nabor, the Crossovers are hoping to take control early against the unpredictable Chameleons.
Nxled, however, has the firepower to pull off an upset with Chiara Permentilla, EJ Laure, Lycha Ebon, Krich Macaslang, May Luna-Lumahan, Jaycel delos Reyes, Jaila Atienza and Lucille Almonte ready to stand their stand their ground and make it to the Last Eight.
On the other hand, the HD Spikers aim to dominate the Solar Spikers and bury them early on to avoid a repeat of their painful 17-25, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25 loss to lowly Highrisers in the qualifying round.
Despite strong performances from rookie Ishie Lalongisip, Vanie Gandler and Jackie Acuña, the HD Spikers still failed to match up with the relentless attacks and airtight defense employed by the Highrisers in what was billed as one of the most shocking upsets in the history of this prestigious professional women’s volleyball league.