Philips, Cignal gun for PSL solo lead

MANILA, Philippines - Philips Gold and Cignal dispute the solo lead today while Foton toughens up for the semis against ousted RC Cola-Air Force in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

With the semis cast complete, Philips Gold and Cignal face off at 4 p.m. not only for the solo lead but also to prime up for the next phase tipped to go down-to-the-wire.

Foton, which clinched the last semis berth with a victory over Meralco last Tuesday, takes on RC Cola at 6 p.m.

Philips Gold beat RC Cola last Tuesday to tie reigning champion Petron and Cignal in the lead at 6-2 in the tournament presented by Asics and backed by Milo with Mueller, Mikasa and Senoh as technical partners and TV5 as official broadcaster.

Philips Gold and Cignal are expected to go all-out for victory to boost their bid for the top spot and avoid a semis confrontation with the fancied Petron.

“Petron is the reigning champion and has an international experience. We really have to win our remaining games to avoid them in the next round,” said Philips Gold coach Francis Vicente.

Tipped to lead the Lady Slammers’ assault are imports Bojana Todorovic and Alexis Olgard as well as the vastly improved Myla Pablo, who started out slow before finishing with a 10-hit performance against the Raiders.

Michelle Gumabao, Desiree Dadang and Melissa Gohing are also expected to step up to provide defensive intensity against Usher and Anderson.