MANILA (UPDATED)– The Cignal HD Spikers can still close their 2023 PVL Invitational Conference on the podium after crushing Vietnam’s Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh on Thursday.

Cignal barely broke a sweat against Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, 25-13, 25-15, 25-20, at the PhilSports Arena to secure a seat for the battle for the bronze medal in the mid-season conference.

The HD Spikers finished the round-robin semifinals with a 2-3 slate, tied with PLDT High Speed Hitters. They, however, have a higher collected points with seven against PLDT’s six.

“Sobrang happy after nung dalawang game namin na nakakalungkot well yun talaga yung journey namin ngayong conference siyempre laging thankful healthy naman lahat kailangan lang din namin magrecover kasi siyempre pagod na rin talaga mga players,” head coach Shaq delos Santos said.

Meanwhile, Kinh Bac remained winless in four outings to sit at the bottom of the standings.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Ces Molina scattered 19 big points on 16 attacks, two aces, and a block while also getting ample support from Jovelyn Gonzaga with 10 points for Cignal.

Cignal continued their rampage in the second frame as they built a 13-7 gap after a spike by Molina that hit the blockers’ hand followed by a Vietnam error.

They stretched it to a 17-9 separation as Rachel Anne Daquis and Molina unleashed two attacks.

In the third set, bench players of HD Spikers such as Vanie Gandler and Jacqueline Acuna stepped up, providing a series points, 12-7 lead.

Roselyn Doria collected three straight blocks, of her five total, to further widen the advantage of Cignal, 18-9.

It proved to be an insurmountable lead as Vietnam attempted to move closer in the succeeding plays as Phan My swiped her spike off the net defenders to trim their deficit, 16-20. A drop shot from Kin Bac further kept them closer, 18-21.

However, Gonzaga’s crosscourt spike before a top spin hit of Gandler restored Cignal’s control of the match, 23-18.

Nguyen Huong tallied 12 points while Le Xuan had 10 and were the only Vietnamese players in double digits.