AND then there were four.
Two aspiring finals debutants and the last two runners-up of the PVL Reinforced Conference will shoot their shot for a chance at gold.
Will history unfold for either Akari or PLDT, or will redemption be in order for either Cignal or Creamline?
Here’s all you need to know.
#1 Akari vs. #4 PLDT
WHEN: Saturday, August 31, 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mall of Asia Arena
WATCH: One Sports, One Sports+, RPTV, Pilipinas Live, pvl.ph/live
Not-so new first-timers
Nine straight wins, a league-best record and a semifinals appearance.
These are all firsts for a two-year-old Akari team that now finds itself two wins away from what could be the most surprising title run the PVL has seen in seven years.
But even with a new head coach in Taka Minowa, a new import in Oly Okaro, and four new or returning players this conference, deep playoff runs aren’t new for some of the Chargers’ core players in Ced Domingo (Creamline), Ivy Lacsina (National University), Dani Ravena (Ateneo) and Grethcel Soltones (San Sebastian).
For a shot at a finals berth, Akari must keep its perfect form intact in its first meeting with PLDT this conference, just as it did in a sharp 17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 rout of Farm Fresh in the knockout quarterfinals.
Enough of ‘almosts’
Fourth. Fifth. Fifth. Fifth.
Over the last year, PLDT’s Achilles heel has been the semifinal round — a hump it just couldn’t overcome.
The last four conferences since 2023 saw the High Speed Hitters either lose in the semis or fall a few wins short of making it to the semis.
Although still incomplete without the likes of Savi Davison and Kianna Dy, PLDT found its best form yet with six prelims wins and a 25-23, 25-27, 15-25, 25-18, 15-9 quarterfinals comeback over Chery Tiggo.
But will it be enough this time for a maiden finals berth, and possibly a maiden title?
Master versus apprentice
Two of La Salle’s champion setters in PLDT’s Kim Fajardo and her successor in Akari’s Mich Cobb look to set up a semifinals performance worthy of a place in the championship game.
Fajardo finished pool play as the league’s fourth-best setter with 4.06 excellent sets per set, and had 23 in their playoff-opening five-set win.
It’s a different story for Cobb as she’s been regularly rotated with Akari newcomer Kamille Cal, who previously played for Minowa in Nxled.
The Akari captain ranked 13th in the league with 1.73 excellent sets per set and only had three with limited game time in the quarterfinals.
With Cal back in the equation for Akari after dealing with undisclosed physical issues in the tail-end of pool play, two young Chargers playmakers will carry the responsibility of outplaying a veteran champion in Fajardo to keep their Cinderella run alive.
#2 Cignal vs. #3 Creamline
WHEN: Saturday, August 31, 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mall of Asia Arena
WATCH: One Sports, One Sports+, RPTV, Pilipinas Live, pvl.ph/live
Vengeance on their minds
There’s some extra motivation for Cignal and Creamline come their knockout semifinals match on Thursday to reach the championship game.
In 2022, the last time PVL staged a Reinforced Conference, the HD Spikers topped the single-round robin semifinals and reached their first PVL Finals.
It was a title run that went for naught right in the end as Cignal was swept by Petro Gazz in the best-of-three title series.
Three years prior, it was Creamline that shared a conference-best record with Petro Gazz and swept their respective best-of-three semis series before their first-ever PVL Finals matchup.
Creamline’s 1-0 series lead vanished through a pair of four-set Petro Gazz wins for their franchise’s maiden championship and the former’s first Finals defeat.
Has Cignal’s time come?
Cignal secured five podium finishes in three years — four of which were bronze-medal campaigns.
Now with a champion import in MJ Perez, the league’s fourth-leading prelims scorer with 195 points and 34 versus Capital1 in the quarterfinals, the HD Spikers might have just found the missing piece to its title chase even in the absence of national team aces Vanie Gandler and Dawn Macandili-Catindig.
Form is often thrown out the window when it comes to knockout matches. But with eight wins in nine matches this conference, the momentum from a strong run thus far could be an all-important edge against the eight-time PVL champions.
Can Creamline still be stopped?
The recurring narrative of playing an entire conference without its champion-MVP trio Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza has been front and center for the semis-bound Cool Smashers.
But the absence of one star trio saw the rise of another as American import Erica Staunton, Michele Gumabao and MVP frontrunner Bernadeth Pons connived for 46 points in a straight-sets quarterfinals win to dethrone Petro Gazz.
This, on top of Staunton’s seven digs and Pons’ 12 receptions.
Cignal’s first-choice weapon in Perez’ offense is a given. But as of late, particularly in the quarterfinals, defense has been a proven strong suit.
Spoiling Marina Tushova’s historic 50-piece was three-time best PVL middle blocker Riri Meneses’ 21 points on seven kill blocks alongside three from Jackie Acuña, including the game-winning rejection on the Russian ace.
And in that playoff-opener alone, Cignal posted 49 digs and 46 receptions in the five-set contest — one that could be the answer they’ll need to douse Creamline’s firepower for a return trip to the Finals on Monday at the Big Dome.
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