Chery Tiggo showcased its veteran experience and composure as it battled back from huge deficits to frustrate Farm Fresh, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22, and gain a piece of the lead in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday.
The Crossovers used their smarts to fluster the Foxies in the stretch run of all three frames, turning a big 15-20 deficit in the opening set into a resounding four-point victory behind a crippling closing 10-1 run. They broke away from a tight second set skirmish and warded off the Foxies’ own fightback at 23-24 to pound out the two-point win then rose from a 10-18 hole in the third on a swirling 8-0 roll before outlasting their rivals in the clutch to complete the straight-set win.
While Chery Tiggo’s did look forward to hurdling their initial match in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision, the Crossovers hardly expected to go through a wringer throughout the one-hour, 31-minute encounter while ranged against a team that didn’t score a win in five games in its PVL Invitational debut.
“Our first two sets were okay but I think we had a slow start in the third. But because of their (Crossovers) determination, naitawid namin,” said Chery Tiggo coach Aaron Velez, whose wards tied opening day winners Creamline, Cignal and Nxled in the early lead of the single round robin elims among a record 12-team field.
Cess Robles came off the bench to fire 10 points, all but two she delivered in the Crossovers’ blistering run to tie the count at 18 in the third. Though she made an attack error in the next play that enabled the Foxies to regain the lead, Robles came through with another hit to force another deadlock then the Crossovers went to sisters Eya and EJ Laure, Pauline Gaston and middle Imee Hernandez to overcome a 19-20 deficit on a decisive 6-1 finish.
Eya topscored for Chery Tiggo with 14 points, EJ came up with 13 points and Hernandez finished with eight markers while Gaston and Shaya Adorador chipped in four points apiece and setter Jasmine Nabor added three markers for the Crossovers.
Chery Tiggo, which placed fifth here in the first conference, played without injured top gun Mylene Paat.
But the Foxies came into the match brimming with confidence, seizing control late in the first set before the Crossovers scored seven straight points to fuel their fiery comeback.
Held to a see-saw battle in the second, the Foxies again lost their poise and steam in the stretch before crumbling in a third set meltdown.
Still, the Foxies hoped to have learned their lessons from the sorry setback with Trisha Tubu, Jade Gentapa, Kate Santiago, Sam Nolasco and Rizza Cruz, among others, expecting to get better and stronger when they set out against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans tomorrow.
Tubu unleashed a 15-point game while fellow lefty Santiago finished with nine markers and Gentapa produced a 10-hit game. Cruz and Nolasco combined for 15 points with the Foxies also flashing their superb defense upfront by coming through with seven blocks, five more than the Crossovers.
Chery Tiggo finished six attack points better than Farm Fresh but cashed in on its rivals’ shaky service reception and scored five aces. The Crossovers likewise pounced on the Foxies’ miscues, netting 19 points while yielding 14 points of their own.
