Chery Tiggo struggled past Choco Mucho in a fierce first set skirmish then bounced back from a lackluster showing in the second with a sweep of the next two, claiming a 29-27, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20 victory over Choco Mucho on Tuesday and moving a win away from nailing the first semifinal berth in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Top gun Mylene Paat also fought off cramps early in the fourth set as she dished out another game-high 25 points on 21 attacks, two blocks, and two aces to power the Crossovers to a league-best 4-0 record and closer to the next phase in a stint so distinct than that of the first two conferences where they wound up eighth both in the Open Conference and the Invitationals.
"Yung una talaga nag-struggle kami, maganda sana yung pang-umpisa namin pero nung bandang gitna medyo nawala kami at gumanda rin yung nilaro ng kabila. Pero kahit papano, yung composure ng team namin is hindi nawala," said Chery Tiggo head coach Clarence Esteban.
"Yung pagkapit doon hanggang doon sa dulo, gustong manalo talaga," he added.
EJ Laure added 15 points on 10 attacks, two kill blocks, and three aces while Jelena Cvijovic slowed down with 10 points after a 16-point game against Akari but produced 21 excellent receptions and eight excellent digs.
Cza Carandang also sustained her stellar play and finished nine markers for the Crossovers, who will shoot for the first Final Four seat against the winless UAI-Army Lady Troopers tomorrow.
Chery Tiggo took the extended first set as Paat and Jaila Atienza shattered the 27-all count with a backrow attack and a block, respectively. The Flying Titans did rebound strong in the second frame but the Crossovers countered in the third to regain a 2-1 lead.
Aliyeva turned in a 21-point production laced with 11 excellent receptions and 10 excellent digs while Kat Tolentino fired 15 points for the Flying Titans, who dropped to fourth at 2-2 in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Deanna Wong only had 12 excellent sets while Denden Lazaro-Revilla collected 14 digs and 14 receptions in the loss.
