CIGNAL HD clinched the first twice-to-beat slot in the quarterfinals following a 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16 tripping of Choco Mucho in the PVL Open Conference yesterday at the Paco Arena.

Behind clutch kills by Ces Molina and Ria Meneses, the HD Spikers overcame a stirring Flying Titans third set fightback from nine points down to take a 2-1 set lead.

“Kailangan maging composed yung team, kasi medyo nag-struggle kami kasi ilang points ang nakuha ng Choco Mucho. Knowing Choco Mucho, malaki ang respeto namin sa team na iyan,” said Cignal mentor Shaq Delos Santos. “Composed lang, tiyagain lang. One point at a time,” he added.

Roselyn Doria, who had eight blocks for a 17-point outing, took over for the HD Spikers in the fourth set to extend their perfect run to three matches.

“Sobrang nakaka-proud kasi sa practice talagang napakasipag niya. All out iyan. Yung two games niyan, alam ko hindi siya satisfied sa naging performance niya,” said Delos Santos on Doria.

“Nakakatuwa, grabe ang inilaro niya and hopefully tuloy-tuloy na,” he added.

Molina, who only entered in the second set, hardly felt the effects of her right ankle injury she suffered in the previous match to finish with 14 points and 10 receptions.

Cignal played as one cohesive unit as Rachel Anne Daquis had 10 points, 12 digs and six receptions, Angeli Araneta also had 10 points, while Meneses had three blocks and two service aces to finish with nine points.

Setter Gel Cayuna also had two service aces and tossed in 44 excellent sets while libero Jheck Dionela collected 34 digs.

Kat Tolentino had 19 points to lead the Flying Titans.

Choco Mucho fell in a tie with idle F2 Logistics in their pool at 2-1.

Games today

(Paco Arena)
3 p.m. – BaliPure vs PLDT
6 p.m. – PetroGazz vs Creamline