WITH both teams already secured spots in the second round as Pool B, Cignal and Akari face off in a showdown of unbeaten squads in a bid to boost their momentum and confidence heading into the crucial crossover round of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

The 1 p.m. contest at the Philsports Arena is tipped to be a close one as the HD Spikers and the Chargers are perfect in four matches.

Cignal, who currently holds the tiebreaker for the No. 1 ranking, boasts experience courtesy of Venezuela’s MJ Perez while Akari, with American Oly Okaro leading the way, brings a fierce desire to continue its impressive run.

Capital1, which at 2-2 has already surpassed its one-win output last conference, aims to secure its place in the top three of Pool B as it plays ZUS Coffee, which is still searching for its first victory after four matches, at 3 p.m.

HD Spikers coach Shaq delos Santos acknowledged the Chargers’ two wins via reverse sweep during their undefeated run, the finest start in club history.

“Yung performance ng Akari pag titignan namin ng normal parang relax lang maglaro pero pagdating ng dulo dalawang games sila nagreverse sweep so di madaling gawin yun kailangan paghandaan and pag-aralan and maximize yung strength ng team namin,” said Delos Santos.

Cignal will enter the Pool B finale on a high following a record-setting, three-set victory over defending champion PetroGazz, setting a league milestone for the fewest errors in a single match with only six.

The Chargers, on the other hand, are coming off a dominant shutout win against the Thunderbelles and the match-up against the HD Spikers is part of a broader process of building their character and their capacity to contend for the championship.

“We need to forget about our wins and prepare for Cignal. This is just part of the process, and the most important thing is to get into the quarterfinals,” said Akari’s Japanrse mentor Taka Minowa.

The Solar Spikers, starring Russian Marina Tushova who dropped a new league all-time scoring record of 45 points last Thursday, have shown significant improvement from their last conference’s performance thanks also to setter Iris Tolenada and rookie libero Roma Mae Doromal.

Capital1 stunned PetroGazz in straight sets and pulled off a five-set reversal of Choco Mucho.

Japanese Asaka Tamaru hopes to receive strong support from other players for ZUS Coffee to finally end the slump.

The Angels and the Flying Titans, both with 1-3 records, clash in a duel of struggling teams at 5 p.m.

Both are vying to break into the top half of their group, but they must first hope for a Solar Spikers loss in the second match. The top three teams from each pool will face the bottom three of the other pool in the second round of the preliminaries starting Saturday.