Vanie Gandler is among Cignal’s scoring threats. —PVL IMAGES
The classification phase of the PVL All-Filipino Conference is in its homestretch and rankings will be the premium with wins to mean slightly lighter assignments in the first round of the playoffs.
That’s why Cignal sets out to cement its hold of No. 3, which would mean playing the 10th-ranked team when the HD Spikers battle dangerous Akari in the 4 p.m. contest at PhilSports Arena in Pasig in a game that means a lot for both.
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Cignal is tied with PLDT and Choco Mucho entering on Tuesday but will be the third-ranked team because of a superior points total with a win even as the Chargers can qualify at the top half of the draw with an upset.
Akari, which made a first-ever Finals appearance last conference, is at 5-5 like Chery Tiggo at No. 6.
Tournament format calls for all the teams advancing to the playoffs but the No. 1 team to battle No. 12; No. 2 to tangle with No. 11 and so on.
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Top gun
The six winners will advance to the semifinals, with the last two slots in that round to be disputed by the losers in a novel play-in tournament.
“We will come into that game with the mindset of winning it,” said Cignal rookie Ishie Lalongisip, whose performance has cushioned the impact of the departure of two aces at the end of last year. “We know what’s at stake for us.”
Vanie Gandler will still be the top Cignal gun, as the former Ateneo standout in the UAAP has taken the offensive cudgels since the departure of Ces Molina and Ria Meneses.
Farm Fresh and cellar-dwelling Capital1 slug it out in the 6:30 p.m. game. looking to close out their respective first-round stints on a winning note and take something positive into the playoffs where they battle higher-ranked foes.
The Foxies can climb up to as high as No. 8 with a win and could wind up playing the No. 5 squad, while the Solar Spikers can get out of the bottom temporarily and avoid the specter of facing powerhouse Creamline next.
Nxled and Galleries Tower also have 1-9 cards like Capital1. INQ
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