IN nine prior PVL conferences over the last three years, Cignal has reached the finals just once where it fell short to Petro Gazz in the 2022 edition of the Reinforced Conference.
The ghosts of its most recent semifinals heartbreak to Creamline could soon be exorcised if Cignal can get the better of defending champion Kurashiki Ablaze in a must-win Invitational Conference preliminary round finale on Wednesday.
READ: Alas Pilipinas stars given green light to rejoin PVL clubs
Tied with 2-1 records, only one more spot is in the offing for either the HD Spikers or Ablaze against Creamline in Thursday’s winner-take-all title game.
This means their Wednesday battle will see the winner advance to the finals and the loser relegated to the battle for third.
Better late than never
For Alas Pilipinas returnee Dawn Macandili-Catindig, who was cleared by the PNVF to rejoin the PVL with Cignal on Sunday, her and fellow national team ace Vanie Gandler’s returning to the team can offer the HD Spikers an all-important edge against Ablaze: knowing the Japanese way.
The Cignal duo missed the Reinforced Conference for the SEA V.League in which they held a two-week Japan training camp in Himeji.
On top of this, they also played a two-day Invitationals series with eight-time Japanese champion club Saga Hisamitsu Springs in which they suffered a pair of sweep defeats.
Hence, the veteran libero hopes their wisdom following such abundant experiences with Japanese volleyball can lead Cignal to its second-ever PVL Finals.
“Coming into this game, mas magiging proactive kami ni Vanie kasi we have experiences coming against Japanese teams, not only yung sa Hisamitsu but also when we were training in Himeji,” said Macandili-Catindig.
“In a way, they have these certain techniques na alam naming ganun na very standard yun sa Japan and ma-seshare namin yun sa team coming into this game.
“Nadadala ko ‘yung experiences ko sa national team here also interms of leadership din kasi puro bata yung kasama ko sa national team so nadadala ko rin 'yun dito (sa Cignal).”
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