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Standings
Team W L
Chery Tiggo 5 0
Creamline 4 0
Petro Gazz 2 1
F2 Logistics 2 2
Cignal 2 2
Choco 2 3
Akari 2 4
PLDT 1 3
UAI-Army 0 5
Games tomorrow (Saturday)
(Sta. Rosa, Laguna)
2:30 p.m. – Petro Gazz vs PLDT
5:30 p.m. – Chery Tiggo vs Creamline
Cignal tightened up the race for the last two semifinal berths, bundling out a hapless UAI-Army side, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19, to force a three-way tie at fourth in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference elims at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan yesterday.
The HD Spikers came out of the long break in top form, out-steadying the Lady Troopers in the stretch in the opening frame, breaking away late in the next and dominating the third to even their card at 2-2 in a tie with F2 Logistics and Choco Mucho.
But the Akari Chargers muddled up the semis race by upending the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in a thriller of a five-setter, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12, in the second game.
Heavy-hitting Prisilla Rivera banged away a league-record 44 points and drew solid backup from Erika Raagas, Janine Marciano, Krich Macaslang and Geneveve Casugod as the Chargers snapped a three-game skid, including a five-set defeat to the first semifinalist Chery Tiggo Crossovers, to keep their hopes alive at 2-4 (win-loss) with two elims games left against the PLDT High Speed Hitters (1-3) and the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers (2-2).
The loss dropped the Flying Titans to 2-3.
Rivera delivered Akari’s last four points, including a backrow attack that made it 12-10, a kill that negated Deanna Wong’s point on a 1-2 play and a block touch that they successfully challenged that put the Chargers at match point.
And after counterpart Odina Aliyeva hammered out her 26th point on a crosscourt kill, the three-time Olympian from Dominican Republic countered with an off-the-block hit that closed out the tense-filled decider for the crucial win.
Earlier, Marciano, who added 18 points, scored on back-to-back hits that gave Akari an 11-8 cushion, the last a clever push that capped Akari’s big two digs off Aliyeva’s power hits.
Earlier, Cignal likewise gained inspiration from the return of middle Ria Meneses with coach Shaq delos Santos also drawing big games from his starters, including reinforcement Tai Bierria, Rachel Ann Daquis, Ces Molina, Roselyn Doria and playmaker Gel Cayuna in a match that also marked the implementation of the league’s Video Challenge System.
The VideoCheck, the latest decision review system that operates through 23 high-speed cameras and manufactured by Genius Sports, is a process whereby video review is used to confirm, reverse or replay specific decisions made by the officiating team.
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