Cignal and Akari aim for their third consecutive victories as they face teams determined to shake up the Pool B leaderboard in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at Philsports Arena, Pasig City.
Thursday’s matches were postponed due to bad weather, with Pool A games rescheduled for Aug. 8, shifting the spotlight to the Pool B contenders in this mid-season conference organized by Sports Vision.
In its ongoing commitment to social responsibility, the league conducted relief efforts for those affected by the floods caused by Typhoon Carina in Cavite, substituting the postponed Thursday matches.
Cignal is set to challenge Capital1’s newly discovered strength, showcased in the Solar Spikers’ surprising victory over the two-time champion Petro Gazz Angels last Tuesday.
The HD Spikers, fresh from a hard-fought four-set win against the winless ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, are confident of their chances in their 1 p.m. showdown.
MJ Perez and Ces Molina will lead Cignal’s charge as they seek to extend their winning streak to three.
Coach Shaq delos Santos has stressed the need for aggression and consistency, saying: “So yung attacks lang namin and siguro more on yung communication ng setter to attacker na kailangan maging mas aggressive kami. So kailangan mas ma-control pa namin yun. And mas maging aggressive and focus namin sa attack namin,” said delos Santos.
Perez echoed this sentiment, saying: “Definitely, for our next opponent, we have to play more aggressively, play more consistently and enjoy the game more.”
The Akari Chargers, on the other hand, try to build on their stunning reverse sweep of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans as they take on the Angels, who are eager to bounce back from that shocking loss to the Solar Spikers.
Oly Okaro, who scored 38 points against the Flying Titans, is expected to lead Akari, while Brooke Van Sickle and Wilma Salas aim to redeem Petro Gazz.
Chargers head coach Taka Minowa plans to focus on limiting Van Sickle and Salas.
“Against Petro Gazz, they have two strong outside hitters, so you have to be patient for broken defense, because they’re really strong, and most players can pass and hit,” said the Japanese coach. “But to our advantage, we have Oly, and can also hit with Brooke. Brooke is also good, so we want it to be a good game.”
In the final match of the day, Choco Mucho and ZUS Coffee both strive to secure their first wins after losing their opening two matches.
Catch the live telecast of the games on Pilipinas Live, RPTV One Sports, One Sports+, and pvl.ph.
