The race to the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference trophy heats up when four of the eight quarterfinalists begin their best-of-three series on Saturday, March 15, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Galeries Tower seeks to continue its Cinderella run as it battles Akari at 4 p.m., while PLDT and Choco Mucho square off at 6:30 p.m. in what promises to be another nail-biting matchup.

Eyes are on the Highrisers after defying the odds and stunning the Cignal HD Spikers to secure a spot in the quarters, but Galeries Tower coach Lerma Giron said there is still too much work to be done to keep their ambitious title bid alive.

“We still can’t afford to be complacent. We wanted this, right? We’re going up against the top seven? They know that, and we have to prove ourselves. We fought to reach this stage, and we know we’re headed to the next level,” said Giron in Filipino.

Indeed, every victory counts in this pivotal stage as the Highrisers aim to draw the first blood.

The last time Galeries and Akari met was at the start of the conference last Nov. 9, where the Chargers won in four sets after a gruelling two-hour, 12-minute battle.

The Highrisers wanted a different narrative this time, with Giron leaning on sa Jimenez, Jewel Encarnacion and France Ronquillo out to fuel their bid against a deep Chargers frontline headed by Ivy Lacsina, CJ Soyud and Grethcel Soltones.

In the other pairing, Choco Mucho tries to inch closer to its bid of eclipsing its runner-up finish last year against a dangerous foe like PLDT.

Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin hopes the two-week respite is enough to rejuvenate his stalwarts in their bid to also replicate their four-set win over the High Speed Hitters in the preliminaries.

Expect a battle of high scores between Choco Mucho’s Sisi Rondina and PLDT’s Savi Davison, with reinforcements slated to play a pivotal role in their matchup.