VOLLEYBALL powerhouse Creamline is at risk of missing an outright PVL playoffs spot for the first time in franchise history, albeit in the preseason.
The last of four one-way tickets to the PVL on Tour quarterfinals can only be grabbed by one of two teams: Creamline or Chery Tiggo.
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The Cool Smashers already completed the preliminary round with a 3-2 (win-loss) record, having lost to Cignal in straight sets and to ZUS Coffee in five.
Meanwhile, the Crossovers (3-1) still have one last prelims game to play against the Thunderbelles (2-2) on Tuesday.
This is where the six Pool B teams stand ahead of the prelims finale in Candon City. Teams with an asterisk still have one prelims match to play.
- CIGNAL: 4-1 (12 points, 3.250 set ratio)
- CREAMLINE: 3-2 (10 pts, 1.375 SR)
- *CHERY TIGGO: 3-1 (8 pts, 1.429 SR)
- AKARI: 2-3 (6 pts, 0.818 SR)
- *ZUS COFFEE: 2-2 (5 pts, 0.900 SR)
- CAPITAL1: 0-5 (1 pt, 0.200 SR)
And here’s how the last outright quarterfinals seat can be won.
CHERY TIGGO (3-1; 8 pts, 1.429 SR): Win and go in
It’s all in Chery Tiggo’s hands now on whether it will drive straight to the playoffs or take a detour in the knockout round.
Tiebreaking metrics will no longer be needed if Chery Tiggo beats ZUS Coffee on Tuesday, regardless of how many sets it will take.
A win for the Crossovers sends them up to a 4-1 record, enough to match Cignal at No. 1.
However, they can only go as high as No. 2 in Pool B as Chery Tiggo won’t be able to tie or surpass Cignal’s 12 match points even with another win.
It’s win and go in for the Crossovers.
CREAMLINE (3-2; 10 pts, 1.375 SR): Chery Tiggo to lose to ZUS Coffee
Creamline no longer has direct control on whether it goes straight to the playoffs as per usual or take the long way round in the knockout phase.
All it can do now is to hope for a Chery Tiggo loss to ZUS Coffee, the team that dealt Creamline one of its two prelims defeats.
A triple-tie at 3-2 gives the Cool Smashers the upper hand on match points.
They already have 10 match points while the Crossovers can only go as high as nine if they lose to the Thunderbelles in five sets.
Meanwhile, ZUS Coffee can only obtain a maximum of eight match points with the win — still not enough to surpass Creamline for the No. 2 seed.
ZUS COFFEE (2-2; 5 pts, 0.900 SR): Out of top two contention with inferior match points
ZUS Coffee can basically play spoiler to Chery Tiggo’s outright quarterfinals bid.
But the bigger picture now for the Thunderbelles is to get the most desirable result against the Crossovers to for the highest possible placement entering the knockout round.
With a win over Chery Tiggo, ZUS Coffee can either rank third or fourth depending on which team racks up a superior set ratio after their match.
The No. 3 seed in Pool B will take on Galeries Tower as Pool A’s sixth seed,
A tougher challenge awaits the No. 4 seed in Pool B as the loser between Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho will become the No. 5 seed in Pool A.
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