Rookies show way as Chery Tiggo outlasts Akari

Cza Carandang delivered the first point in the decider on a contested block touch and Chery Tiggo went on virtually unchallenged the rest of the way, emerging a clear 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-7 winner over Akari in the third game of Tuesday's quadruple-header feature at the Philsports Arena to wheel back into semis contention in Pool A of the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference.

And the Crossovers did it in style, pulling off the victory behind three rookies, who upstaged their seasoned teammates in the stretch where experience, collaboration and poise are the norms.

But former UST stalwarts Eya Laure and Imee Hernandez and National U’s Princess Robles showed guts and hunger also count in such crucial moments as the troika practically carried the Crossovers to the key victory with their stellar plays that put them back in the semis battle.

Eya Laure took over in the early going of the fifth with a barrage of hits, giving the Crossovers a 4-1 cushion, then Hernandez stepped up midway through before Robles pumped in three of their last eight points to spike the league’s first pro status winners’ scorching windup.

The morale-boosting win thus evened Chery Tiggo’s card at 1-1 following a three-set loss to Creamline, putting the Crossovers at third behind the Cool Smashers’ 2-0 slate and the PLDT High Speed Hitters’ 1-0 mark and in the thick of things for one of two semis seats.

Akari, meanwhile, fell to 0-2 following a shutout loss to PLDT and all but bowed out of the race.

Eya Laure, who marked her pro debut with a 14-point showing against the defending champions, unloaded 19 hits this time, including 17 attack points, her three straight blasts breaking the 1-1 count in the fifth and fueling Chery Tiggo’s explosive finish.

After Eli Soyud scored on a drop ball and yielded a point on an attack error, Hernandez made a dump and a quick attack anchored on Eya Laure’s dig then Robles went on a binge from both wings, scoring on a through-the-block hit, a drop ball and a swipe off a broken play to put Chery Tiggo at match point, 14-7.

Soyud’s two-handed push proved short in the ensuing Akari attack, enabling the Crossovers to escape with the hard-earned victory.

EJ Laure backed up her younger sister, who later clinched the game’s top honors, with 15 points while Mylene Paat and Ponggay Gaston each fired 11 points. Hernandez finished with six markers and Robles had four but the rookie made the biggest impact in the clutch with their gritty plays.

Soyud came through with 18 points while rookie Faith Nisperos and Trisha Genesis scored 15 points apiece but the Power Chargers failed to neutralize the Crossovers’ early surge in the fifth and struggled trying to regroup and regain their rhythm and momentum.