Only three game days remain before a fresh PVL champion is crowned, here’s how the rest of the PVL playoff picture looks in the final week of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.
After an explosive start to the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference playoffs, only six teams remain in the fight for the championship.
Top-2 seeds Akari and Cignal are safely through to the next round, but not without some tense moments.
Cignal survived the single-greatest scoring performance in history, with the HD Spikers needing five-full sets to take down Marina Tushova and the Capital1 Solar Spikers.
[Related: PVL: Jackie Acuña applies lessons from Cignal coaches, veterans for huge leap as middle blocker in Reinforced Conference]
Meanwhile, the Chargers overcame a slow start to ease past the Farm Fresh Foxies, continuing their undefeated streak into the semis.
Only three game days remain before a fresh PVL champion is crowned, here’s how the rest of the PVL playoff picture looks in the final week of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.
[Related: PVL playoffs: Grethcel Soltones puts ‘inspired performance’ after Ran Takahashi’s message to Akari]
Akari and Cignal play waiting game
The aforementioned Chargers and HD Spikers are currently waiting in the next round, but if the first half of the quarterfinals are any indication, the semis will be a bloodbath.
Akari is in line to take on either PLDT or Chery Tiggo, two teams that boast a power import capable of matching up with Oly Okaro.
Meanwhile, Cignal awaits a champion in the next round in either Creamline or longtime rival Petro Gazz.
Dial up or driving through?
PLDT vs. Chery Tiggo is the next quarterfinals pairing in the PVL playoffs, and the showdown between the High Speed Hitters and the Crossovers present an intriguing matchup.
Both teams are without key players, both due to injuries or national team duties, but they are not short on firepower.
[Related: PVL: PLDT, Chery Tiggo battle for glory with returning imports in Reinforced Conference quarterfinals]
Behind returning import Elena Samoilenko, PLDT earned the no. 4 seed with a strong 6-2 mark.
However, the High Speed Hitters are hard-pressed to capitalize on this opportunity, as the team has been unfortunately known to come up painfully short during the most inopportune moment in previous conferences.
The same can be said for the Crossovers.
As the very first professional volleyball champion in the Philippines, Chery Tiggo has been longing to re-capture that winning feeling from 2021. Led by another returning import in Khat Bell, the Crossovers hope that the time is now.
Clash of champions
Headlining the PVL quarterfinals is the main event smackdown between sworn rivals Creamline and Petro Gazz.
Despite being the two-time defending champions, the Angels had to scrap to make the playoffs, overcoming a woeful 1-3 start.
But thanks to the combined super efforts of Wilma Salas and Brooke Van Sickle, Petro Gazz appears to be peaking at the right time, entering the quarterfinals with a four-game winning streak, a streak that includes a win over the Cool Smashers.
Speaking of the Cool Smashers, 2024 remains a year of transition for the team.
While they were able to pull through in the All-Filipino Conference, there appears to be some chinks in the armor of Creamline that are evident now in the Reinforced Conference more than ever.
But in true Creamline fashion, the tried-and-test system of the greatest PVL dynasty has unleashed another star, with Bernadeth Pons coming into her own, emerging as the no. 2 local scorer in all of the PVL this conference.
A first-round matchup is not the usual for Creamline and Petro Gazz, but any playoff battle between these two rivals should be a sight to behold.