Cignal overcomes Tushova’s 50-point explosion, Akari stays perfect to reach PVL semis

MANILA, Philippines – Cignal survived a record-setting performance by Capital1 import Marina Tushova and secured its place in the semifinals of the PVL Reinforced Conference.

Tushova dropped a PVL record 50 points for the Solar Spikers, but the HD Spikers got the last laugh and hacked out a gripping 25-19, 36-34, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12 win at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Saturday, August 24.

Ria Meneses netted a conference-high 21 points highlighted by 7 blocks in the marathon quarterfinal that took 2 hours and 49 minutes to finish as second-seed Cignal got the job done despite frittering away a two-set lead.

“We gave everything in this game because it was either advance or go home, so we left it all on the court,” said Meneses, who capped her outing with a block on Tushova that gave the HD Spikers a 13-10 lead in the deciding set.

Capital1 inched within 12-13 after Tushova notched her 50th point off a kill and Cignal import MJ Perez misfired on her attack.

But Perez, who posted 34 points, bounced back with a drop shot to push the HD Spikers to match point before Jackie Acuña blocked Tushova to seal the deal.

Ces Molina backstopped Perez and Meneses with 16 points, Acuña added 8 points, while setter Gel Cayuna chimed in 7 points to go with 21 excellent sets.

The loss marked the end of a historic campaign by Tushova, who reset the PVL scoring record thrice this conference on the way to leading the Solar Spikers to their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

With the high-scoring Russian in tow, Capital1 clinched the seventh seed with a 5-3 record after a lackluster run in the All-Filipino Conference where it finished 11th with a 1-10 card.

Jorelle Singh ended up as the only other double-figure scorer for the Solar Spikers with 12 points.

Meanwhile, top seed Akari preserved its perfect record as it reached the semifinals for the first time in franchise history following a 17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 victory over No. 8 Farm Fresh.

Grethcel Soltones delivered the big hits in the decisive fourth set and tallied 17 points (16 attacks and 1 ace) to lead the Chargers to their ninth straight victory.

Soltones broke a 22-22 deadlock then put Akari at match point, 24-23, after a pair of kills before Camille Victoria blocked a Foxies attack for the win.

Michelle Cobb also produced 17 points for the Chargers and Ivy Lacsina contributed 12 points.

Trish Tubu paced Farm Fresh with 15 points, while import Yeny Murillo and Caitlin Viray churned out 12 points apiece in the loss.

Cignal will tangle with the winner between Creamline and Petro Gazz, while Akari will face either PLDT or Chery Tiggo in the final four. – Rappler.com