By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Chery Tiggo Crossovers pulled off one of their most impressive wins of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference so far after tainting Petro Gazz’s perfect record, 25-15, 27-25, 18-25, 25-23, last November 4, 2023, held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Chery Tiggo highlighted their dominant first-set win with several quick 1-2 cross-court attack plays designed to negate Petro Gazz’s middle blocking.
With Petro Gazz’s middle blocking neutralized, the Crossovers took advantage and pummeled them from the backline to cap off their 1-0 lead.
Just when Chery Tiggo thought they could run the same sets at the start of the second frame, the veteran Petro Gazz team mixed it up and countered with their own various scoring schemes.
The Crossovers then played catch up during the majority of the second set but a final push sparked their successful comeback courtesy of the heroic of Eya Laure and Shaya Adorador.
Trailing by 22-24, Laure scored three points including back-to-back blocks while Adorador scored a down-the-line hit to help Chery Tiggo grab the second set and a 2-0 lead.
Despite Petro Gazz stealing the third set to keep their hopes of a perfect record alive, the Crossovers went off in the fourth and final set to improve their PVL record to four wins and a loss.
After the Laure-Adorador connection that lifted them in the second set, the Crossovers had a dose of magic from Jasmine Nabor and Cza Carandang in the fourth.
Laure was hailed as the Best Player of the Game after dropping 21 points built from 15 successful attacks.
Aside from her scoring prowess, the former UST superstar also delivered 12 excellent digs, four service aces, and two blocks.
Adorador chipped in 14 crucial points while Nabor executed Chery Tiggo’s offense to perfection as she dished out 18 excellent sets.
