ILOCOS NORTE -- Chery Tiggo unmasked erstwhile unbeaten and fancied Creamline with a blend of spunk visibly lacking in its game the last time out, scoring a 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20 victory in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center in Bacarra here, Friday.
The Crossovers failed to wrap it up in three as they crumbled and blew a six-point bulge late in the set in the face of the Cool Smashers' torrid endgame charge. But they came out of the fourth stronger and better, establishing control at 8-4 and holding sway to the finish while pouncing on their rivals' miscues to clinch the victory and enhance their semis bid.
Chery Tiggo thus improved to 4-2, still at fourth but it stopped Creamline's impressive win run at five, leaving the latter's sister team Choco Mucho to assume the solo lead at 5-0.
The victory likewise kept the three others teams, Sta, Lucia (3-3) and BaliPure and Army, toting identical 2-3 slates, in the semis hunt heading to the stretch run of the single rounds elims.
The Crossovers, reeling from a four-set setback to the Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors last Wednesday, stunned the unsuspecting Cool Smashers with their superb defense - on the floor and the net - while keeping their offense going behind Dindin Manabat, Jaja Santiago, Mylene Paat, Shaya Adorador, Arianne Layug and Jasmine Nabor to dominate the first set.
They trailed early in the second but regrouped in time to go 2-0, again behind their tough defense that set up a series of counterattacks anchored on Santiago's quick plays and Manabat and Paat's power hits.
The Crossovers appeared headed for a rare sweep of the defending champions after storming to a 21-15 lead in the third but somewhat slackened on both ends, enabling the Cool Smashers to mount their comeback through Alyssa Valdez and Risa Sato's block off Santiago and Valdez's blast that slightly grazed through Layug's fingers.
