MANILA, Philippines – Cignal secured the third seed in the PVL All-Filipino Conference qualifying round after dominating Akari in straight sets, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21, on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The HD Spikers closed out their preliminary schedule on a three-game winning streak, led by Vanie Gandler’s 15 points. Rose Doria-Aquino also made a strong impact, contributing 12 points from nine attacks and three blocks.
Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos expressed gratitude for the team’s collective effort, saying, “Thank you sa team, coaches and players, especially sa management, kasi talagang naga-all out din buong training and sobrang appreciate ko yung effort ng lahat.”
He added, “So siguro yung respect lang din namin sa isa’t isa. Sobrang happy kasi ito rin yung target namin na hopefully makuha talaga namin yung No. 3 [sa standings].”
Rookie Ishie Lalongisip continued to prove reliable, scoring 10 points, while Gel Cayuna orchestrated the team’s plays with 19 excellent sets, helping Cignal secure an 8-3 record heading into the knockout stage.
Akari initially kept pace with Cignal in the third set, but the HD Spikers gained control and pulled ahead 16-12. A 4-1 exchange, highlighted by an off-speed hit from Jov Fernandez, extended Cignal’s lead to 22-15, though Akari responded with a 4-0 run.
Gandler and Faith Nisperos exchanged cross-court hits before Fernandez scored off a block. A service error by Doria-Aquino made it 24-21, but Jackie Acuña sealed the match with a decisive running kill.
Nisperos led Akari with 12 points, all coming from attacks.
With this loss, Akari wrapped up the preliminary round on a two-game losing streak, finishing at 5-6, as the team awaits its final standing before the next phase.
