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Kyoka Ohshima showed little signs of the illness that kept her from playing in her team’s first game here. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ

The Kurashiki Ablaze swept the Cignal HD Spikers, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23, on Monday in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference.

The Japanese guest team can eliminate the local club from title contention on Tuesday.

Kyoka Ohshima, the team captain who missed his team’s opening game in the tournament last Saturday, returned to action and lobbed 22 excellent sets as the Japanese squad upped its record to 2-0 (win-loss).

“Cignal is strong and they have a tall blocking pattern. We tried to find a way to evade their blocks. This game, we did well in spiking,” said Ohshima through a translator.

Because of a harsh format that puts the top two teams in the final after a single round robin, Cignal is now on the brink of missing the title duel after absorbing its third defeat in four semifinal games. In fact, the HD Spikers don’t even have to play a game to head to the exit. Kurashiki can eliminate the HD Spikers with a win over F2 Logistics on Tuesday.

Asaka Tamaru, who made a rousing debut with 29 points in a four-set win over Vietnam’s Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, dropped 16 points. Saya Taniguchi chipped in 11 points, while Yukino Nano had 10 points and added 12 digs and eight excellent receptions, helping libero Kaoru Takahashi, who tallied 12 digs and nine receptions.

“Cignal is a great offensive team so we focused on our defense,” said Ablaze coach Hideo Suzuki.

Ces Molina was the lone bright spot for the HD Spikers with 12 points. Suzuki was also impressed by Rachel Daquis, even if she had only five points, and setter Gel Cayuna.

“The setter is good and Rachel is not only beautiful but also good at playing,” said Suzuki. INQ

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