Chery Tiggo bounced back from a tough five-set defeat with a dominant performance, defeating winless ZUS Coffee in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-19, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on Saturday.
The victory ensured Chery Tiggo’s advancement to the quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
Aside from a somewhat sluggish start and a shaky finish in the third set, Chery Tiggo controlled the match for its entirety.
Import Kath Bell delivered another impressive display of power game, scoring 28 points – her third-best performance in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
The convincing one-hour, 12-minute romp improved Chery Tiggo’s record to 5-2, securing them a provisional fourth place and a guaranteed spot in the knockout phase, alongside unbeaten Akari (7-0), Cignal (6-1) and PLDT (5-1).
Bell’s final two points sealed the victory over the Thunderbelles, who kept the game close but struggled to finish strong.
Despite her individual brilliance, Bell credited her teammates for their collective effort.
“I’m so proud of the team. I admire their attitude and motivation to bounce back. They really worked hard,” Bell said, reflecting on their recent five-set loss to the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.
Coach Kungfu Reyes acknowledged that while the win was crucial, there are areas needing improvement as they prepare for the next round.
“Even though we won, there are still many adjustments to be made,” he said. “We’ll review our plays for the quarters.”
He also emphasized that while his team executed their play patterns effectively, there were still lapses to address in training.
Mylene Paat contributed 11 points, Cess Robles added seven markers, and Cza Carandang, Seth Rodriguez, and Pauline Gaston each chipped in four points for Chery Tiggo, which will conclude its crossover round assignment against Petro Gazz on Thursday.
Asaka Tamaru led ZUS Coffee with 12 points, Michelle Gamit added nine markers and Sharya Ancheta contributed five points, while Gayle Pascual and Dolly Verzosa scored four points apiece for the ousted Thunderbelles, who absorbed their seventh straight loss.
