Chery Tiggo out-smarted PLDT in a match marked by a series of power exchanges and stare-downs, bucking a listless start and pulling off a 14-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-19 victory to wrest solo second in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elims at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Saturday evening.
Eya Laure and Erika Santos traded kills after kills in the fourth frame while trying to unnerve the other with a stare-down after each hit to the delight of the fans. Though neither of the two backed down, the Crossovers went on to clinch the hotly-disputed set with smart plays from setter Jasmine Nabor, whose blast at endgame appeared to be an ill-advised shot as it sailed high and long but actually hit the hands of a PLDT blocker, paving the way for Chery Tiggo’s victory in one hour and 55 minutes.
It was the Crossovers' fourth straight win since getting ambushed by the Akari Chargers in four last Oct. 24 as they improved to 6-1 for solo second heading to the final stretch of the single round elims of the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Eya Laure finished with 18 points, four more than Santos' output, while sister EJ Laure added 13 markers and Pauline Gaston, Mylene Paat and Cza Carandang added 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Crossovers, who lorded it over the High Speed Hitters in spiking, 57-49.
Though PLDT nearly doubled Chery Tiggo’s block total, 13-6, the Crossovers parlayed the High Speed Hitters wobbly service reception, scoring six aces while yielded just one.
The Crossovers also kept the prolific Savi Davison in check in the last two sets, foiling her assaults that forced Rhea Dimaculangan to shift to Santos and other PLDT hitters.
Davison did churn out a 16-point game but hardly came up with the needed hits at crunchtime while Dell Palomata scored 13 points and Mika Reyes finished with nine markers.
“We worked as a team and made the necessary adjustments,” said Chery Tiggo deputy coach Kungfu Reyes. “Yung first unit namin ‘di naging ganun ka aggressive, siguro slow start ulit or talagang mas ano lang ang blocking ni PLDT. Talagang nakita mo naman lagpas ang siko sa net so that’s why kahit anong atake namin nung first set, dulo dulo kasi nga kargado na yung serve so unstable yung first ball namin.”
Reyes also credited Nabor’s clever plays and cited the team’s multiple attacking options.
Halos marami kaming option eh, lima ang nagiging atake namin. As long as meron kaming good first ball, ‘di naman perfect pass, nasa loob lang siya ng three-meter line ang dami naming pwedeng gawin,” added Reyes.
The loss dropped PLDT to joint-fourth with sister team Cignal at 5-2, further muddling up the semifinal race with eight teams still in contention.
