PVL on Tour played their last set of games at Passi Arena in Iloilo City last night, July 20, Sunday, as volleyball fans saw a team book a quarterfinals ticket and a team suffer their 1st ever loss of the preseason.
Erika Santos Helps HD Spikers Capture Quarterfinals Slot
After having their 3-game winning streak snapped by Chery Tiggo Crossovers yesterday in the battle of undefeated teams, Erika Santos of the Cignal HD Spikers made sure her squad wouldn’t miss the playoffs.
Playing against the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles that just won a 5-set thriller against the Creamline Cool Smashers yesterday, the HD Spikers are up for a tough challenge.
Cignal took control early, surviving a tight opening frame that saw ZUS Coffee tie the score at 22 before crumbling under pressure with a string of errors. Roselyn Doria-Aquino’s timely block sealed the second set, 25-17, putting the HD Spikers comfortably ahead.
Though the Thunderbelles fought back in the third set, rallying from an early four-point deficit to eventually win the frame after a service error from Tin Tiamzon, the HD Spikers regained focus in the fourth. Cignal broke a 10-all deadlock with a decisive 10-3 run, anchored by Santos and Ishie Lalongisip, and never looked back.
Cignal’s floor defense, led by libero Buding Duremdes, also played a key role, along with their superior net presence, as they out-blocked ZUS Coffee 9-5. Despite giving up 23 unforced errors, the HD Spikers outgunned the Thunderbelles, 71-49, and benefited from their opponents’ 15 miscues.
FINAL SCORES = Set 1: 25-22, Set 2: 25-17, Set 3: 25-21, Set 4: 25-16
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Erika Santos delivered a career-best performance, exploding for 30 points off 29 attacks and a block to steer the HD Spikers to a 4-1 record and a top-two finish in the pool.
Santos, Cignal’s prized off-season pickup from PLDT, erupted for 30 points built on 29 attacks which was more than doubling her 14-point effort in their previous outing.
Aside from Santos’ dominant outing, Lalongisip added 15 points, while Jackie Acuña chipped in 11. Doria-Aquino contributed nine markers and Tiamzon had seven. Playmaker Gel Cayuna, who finished with six points and 27 excellent sets, effectively orchestrated the offense and outplayed her counterpart, Cloanne Mondonedo, who had 20 sets.
The win not only erased the sting of their first defeat but also denied ZUS Coffee a chance to finish in the top two, sending the Thunderbelles to the knockout stage instead.
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Chinnie Arroyo topscored for ZUS Coffee with 20 points, while Chai Troncoso added nine, and Fiola Ceballos and rookie AC Miner contributed eight apiece. ZUS Coffee now holds a 2-2 record and will wrap up the pool phase against the unbeaten Chery Tiggo Crossovers on July 29 in Candon.
Meanwhile, Cignal enters a five-day break ahead of the quarterfinals, determined to sustain its strong form after a disrupted campaign in the previous All-Filipino Conference. The PVL on Tour resumes July 26 in Cebu with matches featuring Nxled vs. PLDT and Galeries Tower vs. Farm Fresh.
Creamline Gives Chery Tiggo Their First Loss
After suffering their first ever back to back loss for a very long time in the hands of ZUS Coffee through 5-Sets, the Creamline Cool Smashers made sure they won’t suffer 3-in a row.
Creamline started strong by taking the first set, then faltered in the second as Chery Tiggo regrouped and evened the score. But the Cool Smashers found their rhythm again in the third, racing to a 7-3 lead and dominating the set with aggressive offense and tightened floor defense. That momentum carried into the fourth, where Alyssa Valdez took over midway through the frame to give her team the cushion they needed.
In the fourth set, with Creamline leading 18-16, Pangs Panaga’s hit struck the post, which then made contact with Chery Tiggo’s Renee Peñafiel. What followed was a long sequence of challenges and deliberations. Initially flagged for a net touch, Peñafiel’s action was later deemed incidental after it was clarified that the ball had hit the post and not the antenna. With no clear infraction on either side and the ball already dead, the referees ruled for a replay, pausing play for about 18 minutes.
Despite the lengthy delay and rising tension, Creamline remained composed. Once action resumed, the Cool Smashers unleashed a decisive 7-2 closing run, capped by key contributions from Valdez and Michelle Gumabao to end the two-hour and 12-minute battle.
FINAL SCORES = Set 1: 25-21, Set 2: 25-19, Set 3: 25-16, Set 4: 25-18
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Cool Smashers held clear advantages in key statistical categories: 60-48 in attacks, 8-5 in blocks, and 7-1 in aces. While they committed 26 unforced errors and had seven more than Chery Tiggo as the Cool Smashers’ superior firepower and big-game experience made the difference, particularly in the crucial third and fourth sets.
Valdez led the charge with an all-around triple-double performance of 19 points built on 16 attacks and three blocks, along with 11 digs and 15 receptions. Gumabao and Panaga also delivered 17 points each, with the latter making her presence felt at the net with seven blocks and two aces. Jema Galanza added 13 markers and 10 digs, while Kyle Negrito orchestrated the offense with 31 excellent sets.
The victory improved their record to 3-2, keeping their hopes for a quarterfinal slot alive while denying the Crossovers an outright entry for now.
The win also served as a perfect birthday gift for head coach Sherwin Meneses, as Creamline reasserted itself as a title threat with renewed confidence heading into the next phase of the tournament.
Credits: Premier Volleyball League
Meanwhile, for the side of Chery Tiggo, which had swept its first three matches including a win over then-unbeaten Cignal, dropped to 3-1 and now faces a must-win game against ZUS Coffee on July 29 in Candon to secure the No. 2 seed in the group. The Crossovers were led by Peñafiel, Ara Galang, and Cess Robles, who all scored 11 points. Pauline Gaston contributed seven markers, while veteran middle blocker Aby Maraño had five.
