Cignal dodged a major bullet, taking down Petro Gazz in five sets, 25-22, 34-32, 15-25, 16-25, 15-13, to bolster its semis bid in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, Thursday at the Smart Araneta Arena.
American reinforcement Tai Bierria spearheaded the HD Spikers with 19 points on 18 attacks to go along with seven excellent receptions while Ces Molina added 13 markers, all of which came from the attack line, to make it back-to-back wins.
The HD Spikers upped their slate to 3-2 to force a three-way tie for the third spot with the Angels and F2 Logistics.
“Sobrang lucky kami naibigay sa amin yun. Siyempre kita naman nagbounce sobrang nipis talaga as in. Kasi crucial yun. yun yung turning point na nakarecover kami,” said Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos of his late challenge that tied the fifth set at 13-all.
“Nag-slow down talaga, bumaba yung performance namin nung third and fourth set pero good thing, thank you kay Lord sa panalo and then sa effort ng team and then ng coaches so malaking factor for us na magkaroon ng malaking chance para sa top four,” he added.
With the scores locked at 12-all in the final set, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas scored an off-the-block to hand the Angels a precarious one-point advantage.
Roselyn Doria answered back with a quick that sailed wide but was eventually overturned after the HD Spikers successfully challenged the call. Tied once again at 13, Rachel Daquis scored an emphatic block on MJ Phillips before Doria nailed an ace to finish the game in two hours and 36 minutes.
Cignal drew first blood in the first set before putting on a tough stand in the extended second frame – which lasted for a total of 43 minutes – that saw them save eight match points in the 34-32 win that gave them a 2-0 cushion over Petro Gazz.
The Angels, however, woke up from their sleep and dominated the HD Spikers in the next two sets to send the game to a decider.
Lindsey Vander Weide finished with a game-high 29 points in the loss to go along with 16 excellent digs.
Myla Pablo added 17 points while Pontillas and Djanel Cheng chipped in 11 markers apiece.
Cignal will take on PLDT on Tuesday at 2:30 PM while Petro Gazz goes up against Chery Tiggo on Saturday at 5:30 PM. Both games will be played in the same venue.
