Cignal sweeps Vietnam squad to stay in the hunt for PVL Invitational bronze

Cignal protected its home turf with a sweep of guest team Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, 25-13, 25-15, 25-20, in the semifinals of the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

The HD Spikers are now tied with PLDT at 2-3 at the third spot to remain in the hunt for the bronze medal, while the Vietnamese squad remains winless at 0-4.

The third and fourth-seeded teams will play in the battle for third place while higher seeds Creamline and Kurashiki Ablaze are already assured of finals slots.

In a preview of the finals, the defending champions Cool Smashers and Kurashiki will still face each other in the last semifinals game on Friday to determine the top seed.

Seasoned outside hitter Ces Molina led the way with 19 points anchored on 16 attacks, two aces, and one block while Jovelyn Gonzaga chipped in 10 markers.

Middle blockers Roselyn Doria and Riri Meneses also imposed their will at the net as the former had five blocks to finish with nine points while the latter collected four blocks en route to eight markers.

Only five Vietnamese players scored with Huong Nguyen pouring in 12 points as Xuan Le had 10 in the loss.

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News