Cignal starts its arduous climb to semifinal qualification on Thursday, facing a determined Farm Fresh side also in need of a victory to rejuvenate its flagging campaign in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Reeling from last week’s five-set defeat to the Creamline Cool Smashers in a match they controlled initially, the HD Spikers enter the 4 p.m. showdown with a sense of urgency, seeking a win so crucial in their semis drive in the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
With a 4-2 (win-loss) record, Cignal has slipped to sixth place. Despite the tight competition, where only two games separate the top six teams, the HD Spikers are under pressure to perform well against Farm Fresh, given their challenging schedule ahead.
They play the surging Chery Tiggo Crossovers on April 11, take on the Petro Gazz Angels on April 16 then tangle with the PLDT High Speed Hitters on April 20. They close out their prelims assignments against the Capital1 Solar Spikers on April 27.
This lineup places Cignal in a must-win situation against Farm Fresh, which is equally committed to securing a victory to keep its semis hopes alive as the league heads toward a frenetic elims finish.
At seventh with a 2-4 record, Farm Fresh has a slightly more favorable schedule ahead. They will next clash with the Nxled Chameleons on April 9, the Galeries Tower Highrisers on April 13 and the Strong Group Athletics on April 18 – teams they are likely to compete well against.
However, their final elims game will be versus Choco Mucho on April 23.
Creamline, Choco Mucho and PLDT lead the field with identical 6-1 slates while Chery Tiggo and Petro Gazz are tied at fourth with 5-2 marks, setting the stage for a wild battle for semis seats in the remaining four weeks of the preliminaries.
Nxled, meanwhile, aims to overcome its recent struggles as it mixes it up with winless Strong Group at 6 p.m., looking to secure its second win in seven games.
The Athletics, on the other hand, are shooting for their first victory after six losses.
Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos is expected to leverage his experienced lineup, including Ces Molina, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Roselyn Doria and Riri Meneses, alongside Vanie Gandler, to outplay the comparatively younger Farm Fresh team.
Despite their shutout loss to PLDT last March 23, however, Farm Fresh is still considered the tournament dark horse, having upended Chery Tiggo in three last March 9. Expected to lead the Foxies’ charge are emerging talents Trisha Tubu, Chinnie Arroyo, Rizza Cruz and Alyssa Bertolano with support from Kate Santiago, Caitlyn Viray, Aprylle Tagsip and skipper Louie Romero.
Games are aired live on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play, SMART Live Stream and pvl.ph.
