Last two PVL semis slots at stake

MANILA, Philippines — Four teams fight it out Tuesday, April 7, for the last two tickets to the PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinal bus as Farm Fresh and Nxled face off and Creamline and Akari collide at the FilOil Arena in San Juan.

The Foxies and the Chameleons, whose closest brush to the semis were a pair of fifth-place efforts for the former and one No. 5 performance for the latter, will shoot for their best finish when they face off at 4 p.m.

The Cool Smashers, for their part, seek a return trip to the semis after failing to make it that far for the first time in franchise history in the Reinforced Conference last year when they face off with the Chargers, who aim for a third semis stint in a span of a year, at 6:30 p.m.

“To be honest, I am playing a team with a lot of very good attitude and amazing results,” said Nxled coach Ettore Guidetti.

“We play a big team and that’s a game that we can win and maybe, emotionally, it will be easier for us to play a big team,” he added.

Akari will come into its duel with Creamline — the league’s most titled club with 10 — knowing it had the latter’s number following a four-set victory in their classification phase meeting last March 12 at the same San Juan venue.

And the key was keeping its poise.

“Our composure must be there,” said Akari’s veteran spiker Eli Soyud.

Creamline has continued to search for answers after dropping three of their last four outings, including a heartbreaking five-set loss to Cignal in the qualifying round that denied it an outright semis spot.

But it could smoothen up everything out for the proud ice cream franchise with a win on this one, as it would catapult it straight to the semis where PLDT and Cignal await.