Creamline, Cignal go for semis clincher

MANILA, Philippines — Cignal HD and Creamline seek outright semifinal entry when they battle BaliPure and Chery Tiggo, respectively, today in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference that has been opened to the public for the first time in three years at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

Both the HD Spikers and Cool Smashers swept their respective groups with the former going 4-0 in Pool A and the latter 3-0 in Pool B, thus, going to the quarterfinals with the crucial twice-to-beat edge.

Much attention is expected to be on the HD Spikers, who swept what everybody considered as the Group of Death with big wins over serious contenders Choco Mucho, F2 Logistics and Chery Tiggo – the defending titlist.

The HD Spikers will come in as heavy favorites in their 3 p.m. showdown with the Purest Water Defenders, who lost all their three outings in Pool B.

But Cignal HD coach Shaq delos Santos stressed there is no room for complacency in the playoff round.

“We need to triple our efforts and we can’t relax in the quarterfinals. If we can do it in one game, the better, but we’re expecting it to be tough,” said Delos Santos, whose charges have improved on their last-place finish in the Bacarra, Ilocos Norte bubble a year ago.

Creamline likewise will shoot for an outright semis slot and settle an old score with last season’s conqueror Chery Tiggo when they clash at 6 p.m.

The Cool Smashers came a set away from clinching the 2021 crown when they went 2-1 up in the deciding Game 3 but imploded in the final two sets, allowing the Crossovers to fight back and snatch the title.