CIGNAL HD and Creamline take the first of two chances to get to the Final Four but they sure won’t take any chances as they go for the clincher against BaliPure and Chery Tiggo in today’s start of the quarterfinal round of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference.
It won’t be easy as the Purest Water Defenders and the Crossovers mount a kind of challenge they missed putting up in the prelims, guaranteeing a pair of fierce duels in the stretch run of the compressed tournament marking the second pro season of the country’s premier volley league.
For topping their respective sides, Cignal and Creamline need only to win once to advance.
What makes the league’s resumption after a much-deserved three-day break doubly interesting is that it will be staged back at its home — at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan where these four teams will be playing before an expected big crowd for the first time since Creamline beat Petro Gazz and completed a rare PVL Open sweep in 2019.
Fan presence will surely play a big role for these contending teams, foremost of which is the inspiration they would generate, not to mention the constant cheers that motivate the teams and players.
The HD Spikers should have more of that after emerging as the surprise team in the prelims grind that saw them post one big win after another on their way to sweeping the tough Group A of the two-division tournament organized by Sports Vision.
And coach Shaq delos Santos expects more of the same from his wards headed by Rachel Ann Daquis, whose experience and leadership have helped the team buck the odds that had them repulsing F2 Logistics, Choco Mucho and Chery Tiggo before toppling Army Black Mamba.
