The Galeries Tower Highrisers. PVL Media Bureau

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Tenth-ranked Galeries Tower pulled off an upset for the ages, toppling number three seed Cignal, 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19, in the qualifying round of the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference, Thursday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

In their most recent encounter, it was the HD Spikers who emerged triumphant as they swept the Highrisers, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, in January this year.

READ: Undermanned Cignal resumes PVL campaign with a win, sweeps Galeries

But the Lerma Giron-coached squad proved to be fearless this time around, clinching a quarterfinal berth at the expense of their tormentor.

The Highrisers have yet to win against the HD Spikers ever since their entry to the league in 2023. And their breakthrough over the Shaq delos Santos-mentored team came just in time to overcome a sloppy preliminaries output of 1-10 and make it to the next phase.

"Floating in heaven... very grateful—worth it lahat ng aming mga luha, dugo, at pawis kasi grabe 'yung pinagdaanan namin before 'tong game na 'to," said Giron during the postgame press conference.

"It's a milestone for us—for the team, for the players, for the coaches. Sobrang grateful lang ako. Since Day 1 na nag-start, nandun 'yung tiwala ko sa mga players na kinuha ko, sa mga players kung anong meron kami," Giron also said.

Ysa Jimenez dropped the best game of her career, tallying a game-high 23 points on 22 attacks and a block to go with four excellent digs, while France Ronquillo supplemented that offensive showing with a 20-point output anchored on 18 attacks, one service ace and a block including 13 excellent receptions.

Libero Alyssa Eroa shone at what she does best, listing 28 excellent digs, while Fhen Emnas made the plays with 14 excellent sets.

Eroa's emotions poured through after the game.

"Marami po talaga kaming pinagdaanan. Malalim po talaga ‘yung pinagdaananan namin kaya po ‘yung hugot namin sa laro na ito, binigay namin lahat," said the teary-eyed Eroa.

Rookie Jewel Encarnacion showed what she can do as she delivered 11 points and 13 excellent receptions.

The depleted Cignal side suffered a double whammy as the HD Spikers also saw their spiker Jov Fernandez stretchered off the court after colliding with a teammate early in Set 3.

Vanie Gandler paced the losing side with 17 points on 16 attacks, while Ishie Lalongsip and Jackie Acuna added 13 apiece for Cignal's scoring.

But all's not lost for the HD Spikers. They still have a chance to enter the playoffs through the play-in tournament.

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