Creamline and Cignal gun for quarterfinal spots against separate lower-seeded rivals on Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Defending champion Cool Smashers clash with the Nxled Chameleons at 6:30 p.m. with high hopes of keeping their title campaign alive, while the HD Spikers collide with the Galeries Tower Highrisers in the 4 p.m. opener.

Winners in this doubleheader will automatically advance to the quarters, while losing teams will be relegated in a round-robin match that stakes two berths in the said phase.

Though fancied to win their matches, both Creamline and Cignal are not taking their rivals lightly as Nxled and Galeries Tower are expected to remain undaunted with hopes of delivering performances that defy expectations.

Still, the Cool Smashers are ahead on paper after sweeping the Chameleons in their first meeting last month, 25-12, 25-21, 25-19.

Creamline’s formidable core is expected to be its main weapon with Tots Carlos and Bernadeth Pons at the forefront of its attack, and Alyssa Valdez, Jema Galanza and Bea De Leon backing them up.

But Nxled, which finished the preliminaries at the bottom with a 1-10 card, is unfazed as it draws strength from Lycha Ebon, Chiara Permentilla and EJ Laure.

In the other pairing, the third-seeded HD Spikers hopes to ride on their three-game winning run in the prelims after finishing with an 8-3 record.

Leaning on their 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 win over the Highrisers in their first meeting last month, Cignal aims to duplicate this feat with Roselyn Doria, Vanie Gandler and Ishie Lalongisip leading their charge against.

Retribution, however, is in the minds of the 10^th pick Galeries Tower as coach Lerma Giron eyes more firepower from her stalwarts that include Jho Maraguinot, Ysa Jimenez and France Ronquillo.