Cignal ousted defending champion Kurashiki Ablaze, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-11, to arrange a championship match with Creamline in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City Wednesday night, Sept. 11.

The HD Spikers drew strength from hard-hitting MJ Perez particularly in the crunch to book their second finals appearance in league history. The last time they played for the title was in the 2022 Reinforced Conference where they lost to Petro Gazz.

Perez was unstoppable throughout the two hour, 34-minute match, exploding for 36 points highlighted by 34 kills including those in the final stretch of the pivotal fifth set.

Tied at 10 after an off-the-block spike from Saki Tanabe for the Ablaze, the HD Spikers launched their offensive onslaught with a running attack from 11 and back-to-back hits from Perez.

Yukino Yano briefly stopped the bleeding with a down-the-line spike for Kurashiki to trim the deficit to 11-13, but Perez retaliated with her own down-the-line attack to send Cignal at matchpoint.

The Ablaze attempted to destroy the HD Spikers’ solid net defense with multiple kills, but an attack from Yano sailed long, giving Cignal the victory.

With the win, Cignal guns for its first-ever franchise title against the Grand Slam-seeking Creamline on Thursday, Sept. 12, at the same venue. Kurashiki, for its part, battles Est Cola for the bronze.

Skipper Ces Molina also sparkled for the HD Spikers with 13 points, whileJackie Acuña was a revelation after tallying 10 points the same as Riri Meneses.

Libero Dawn Catindig, meanwhile, took charge of the floor with 27 excellent digs and seven receptions against the hard-smashing Ablaze, who bombarded the HD Spikers with 79 kills to no avail.

Four players scored in double figures for Kurashiki with Cing Low Mei posting 24 points, Tanabe finishing 19, Yano adding 17, and Saya Taniguchi chipping in 13.