CHERY Tiggo, which hurdled a pair of lesser lights last week, faces a stern test against Akari while PLDT tries to sustain its rebound and F2 Logistics seeks to bounce back in Week 2 of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference today, Tuesday.
After a successful initial PVL on Tour foray in Batangas which drew a packed crowd over the weekend, the Sports Vision-organized league holds another out-of-town game in Antipolo with the Cargo Movers testing the Nxled Chameleons’ mettle at 2 p.m., the High Speed Hitters going for another win against the Farm Fresh Foxies, and the Crossovers shooting for a third straight victory — and the solo lead — versus the unpredictable Akari Chargers at the Ynares Center.
Chery Tiggo, out to make up for its fifth-place finish in the first conference last March, scrambled past Farm Fresh in last week’s inaugurals of the season-ending tournament then ripped newcomer Galeries Tower to set the early pace with defending champion Creamline and Petro Gazz.
But against the Chargers in their 6 p.m. clash, the Crossovers will need to play as consistent as possible, with the former raring to atone for their crushing defeat to the High Speed Hitters following a shock five-set win over the Cargo Movers last week.
Chery Tiggo coach Aaron Velez has been drawing solid games from sisters EJ and Eya Laure, Imee Hernandez, Shaya Adorador and Jasmine Nabor and clutch performances from Cess Robles, making up for the absence of Mylene Paat and Cza Carandang.
The Laures have combined for a pair of 27-point outputs in their first two games.
Akari coach Jorge Brito is hopeful he could muster the same energy and outputs from his combo of fighters, led by Dindin Manabat, Faith Nisperos, Ezra Madrigal, Fifi Sharma and Trisha Genesis.
The five produced double-digit outputs in upending the Cargo Movers but struggled against the High Speed Hitters with only Nisperos and Manabat finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively, enabling PLDT to fashion out a rather cruising 25-16, 25-16, 25-23 victory last Thursday.
