MANILA, Philippines – Cignal clinched the third seed in the PVL All-Filipino Conference qualifying round after a dominant 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 win over Akari on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The HD Spikers wrapped up their preliminary campaign with three straight victories, fueled by Vanie Gandler’s 15 points. Rose Doria-Aquino also stepped up with 12 points, scoring nine kills and three blocks.
Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos praised the team’s hard work, 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 continued, “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 remained a solid contributor with 10 points, while Gel Cayuna orchestrated the offense with 19 excellent sets, leading Cignal to an 8-3 record entering the knockout round.
Akari managed to stay competitive early in the third set but eventually fell behind as Cignal built a 16-12 advantage. A 4-1 run, highlighted by an off-speed hit from Jov Fernandez, extended the HD Spikers’ lead to 22-15, though Akari fought back with a 4-0 surge.
Down the stretch, Gandler and Faith Nisperos exchanged cross-court shots, Fernandez scored off a block, and a service error from Doria-Aquino made it 24-21. Jackie Acuña then sealed the win with a decisive running kill.
Nisperos led Akari with 12 points, all from attacks.
With the loss, Akari dropped to a 5-6 record, closing the preliminary round on a two-game skid while awaiting its final placement for the next phase of the tournament.
