Cignal needed only a point for its fourth consecutive win in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.

But Nxled stayed stuck on its tail.

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To finally put an end to the Chameleons’ fight back, HD Spikers coach Shaq delos Santos had to put back Ces Molina, who went for the kill against Nxled for a 25-18, 25-22, 25-23, in an out-of-town match in Minglanilla, Cebu.

“Even the players knew that their performance was not as satisfying,” Delos Santos said in Filipino after the HD Spikers hacked out the victory in two hours and five minutes despite the heat in the venue and a 20 to 30-minute delay due to a power outage in the final frame.

“The players told me after the game ‘Coach, we’ll make it up to you,’” Delos Santos added.

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Crowd-favorite Vanie Gandler powered Cignal with 13 points out of 43 attempts and she knows that there’s still a lot more work to do for her part.

Seven blocks

“[We need to continue working on] our connection, of course,” Gandler said in a TV interview after leading the HD Spikers with her nine attacks, a game-high three blocks and an ace. “There are times where we make errors consistently so we just gotta keep working from hereon.”

“I need to improve every skill, [most especially] my receive. My role is very crucial and I just wanna continue being a team player and help in whatever way I can,” the Ateneo product said.

The Chameleons played aggressively but Cignal was kept alive by its seven total blocks, three aces and 36 excellent digs—12 courtesy of Dawn Macandili-Catindig.—Angel B. Dukha III INQ