Critical tripleheader up as Final Four race hits fever-pitch

Petro Gazz will have the easiest assignment among three teams trying to wriggle out of a logjam for third spot as the race for semifinal berths in the PVL All-Filipino Conference heats up even more.

Colliding with Galleries Tower in the 2 p.m. game at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna, the Angels can claim a piece of the lead with a win heading into the homestretch of the eliminations, which actually started Thursday when Creamline demolished Choco Mucho in straight sets in front of 17,396 loud and appreciative fans.

Though the live attendance for the Saturday tripleheader will obviously be far from that, the importance that the games will carry as far as the chances of the Angels, Chery Tiggo and PLDT are concerned is as crucial as it was for the Cool Smashers and Flying Titans in that blockbuster showdown at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Creamline claimed a tie with Choco Mucho for the lead with that win at 8-2, while the trio of contenders is locked at 7-2, and anyone of them losing in Laguna will be a dampener.

The Angels have the young Highrisers to deal with, while the Crossovers, in the 4 p.m. game, will be colliding with an Akari side that is just using the rest of the elimination round to have its talent-riddled roster jell and become legitimate contenders.

PLDT, meanwhile, clashes with sister team Cignal, which has its back to the wall and will definitely fight it out in the 6 p.m. game to fan its hopes of advancing.

The elimination round actually enters its final week, and what a way to signal that with the eye-popping attendance that took place on a weekday.

“Until now, I’m speechless in receiving that kind of support from the volleyball community,” Creamline star Alyssa Valdez said in Filipino. “And it’s just so nice always to play in front of all these people, even those who watch live on television, it feels great to give them a good game.”

That attendance number was the biggest for the PVL this year, and it followed a Creamline-Choco Mucho trend that owns the largest number of live fans that witnessed Game 2 of the All-Filipino Finals last December, which was 24,459, also at the Big Dome.

And Valdez was also part what was then a record-breaking feat, when she led Ateneo against La Salle in Game 3 of the UAAP Finals in 2016, when they played in front of 22,848 fans.

“To the Choco Mucho and Creamline fans, we salute all of your efforts and time just to watch and show your love,” Valdez said. INQ