Jelena Cvijovic only ranks seventh out of the nine imports in scoring in the on-going 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
But despite the modest numbers in points, the Montenegrin guest player has delivered Chery Tiggo to a pristine 5-0 record and be the first team to advance to the round-robin semifinals.
The 6-foot-1 outside spiker doesn't need to worry about offense a lot as locals Mylene Paat, Cza Carandang, and EJ Laure is taking the scoring cudgels for the Crossovers.
In fact, the trio leads the league in points for locals with Paat getting 102 points, Carandang with 63, and Laure with 60.
"She's (Paat) very good captain and leader. She's pushing a lot so it's really good to play with her and other players because I think everybody is [contributing always]," said Cvijovic after notching their fifth win on Thursday against United Auctioneers-Army.
With the triumvirate taking the offensive load, Cvijovic can focus more on defense. But when Chery Tiggo needs her scoring prowess, she can deliver too.
For head coach Clarence Esteban, that's what he really wants from his reinforcement - defense more than the points.
"Actually yun naman talaga yung hinahanap ko kay Jelena kasi before she played libero for the national team," shared Esteban, recalling two international games where Cvijovic played as libero due to "team issues".
"Pero yun nga every time sinasabi ko sa kanya yun I need your defense, I need your receive. At the start pa lang kitang kita naman namin na magaling 'yung passing niya saka 'yung digging niya."
