By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Chery Tiggo Pro Crossovers escaped the gritty United Auctioneers Inc-Army squad in five grueling sets on October 27, 22-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 15-12, to extend their undefeated record to five wins in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference.
Chery Tiggo banked on the offensive prowess of veteran outside hitter Mylene Paat who displayed one of her best scoring performances in the import-laced conference with 23 big points.
Paat carried the Crossovers in the second half of the match when she picked up her offensive rhythm after a slow start in the first set.
The national team staple leader couldn’t break through the Army’s solid middle-blocking but kept on pushing until finding her form midway through the second set.
Despite having a 0-3 record heading into the matchup, the Army squad was unfazed against the league leaders and got a huge boost from llongga team captain Jovelyn Gonzaga who played an inspired game in an attempt to deliver the first win for her team.
However, Chery Tiggo had other plans and erupted in the most crucial stretch of the match when they got out of their 1-2 set deficit trouble.
Chery’s Montenegrin import Jelena Cvijovic forced a deciding fifth set after finding a gap against the Army’s two middle blockers in a simple set play.
The Crossovers then went off to a rousing start in the last set after establishing a quick 6-2 lead. However, the experienced Army team kept themselves within striking distance and countered with a 4-1 scoring run.
Chery Tiggo answered back with their series of well-orchestrated 1-2 offensive set plays to score five unanswered points, 11-7.
Up 14-12 with a match-point advantage, the Crossovers turned to the sizzling Paat and delivered the final blow off a quick attack in the middle area.
“Very slow kasi ‘yung start namin hindi ko alam kung anong meron sa first set namin pero tinry pa rin namin i-boost ‘yung morale ng players namin,” said Chery Tiggo head coach Clarence Esteban.
The Crossovers will return to the volleyball court on November 5 and will set up a highly-anticipated clash against Alyssa Valdez and the Creamline Cool Smashers.
