TITLE-hungry Chery Tiggo sealed its spot in the championship round of the PVL On Tour following a hard-earned victory against Cignal 25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23 in the semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After months of displaying their resilience and grit in the pre-season tourney, the Crossovers reached the Big Dance as outside spiker Cess Robles delivered 15 points, 11 digs and 11 excellent receptions while veteran Ara Galang added 15 markers in the duel.
Middle blocker Imee Hernandez and rookie Ren Penafiel also shone for Chery Tiggo with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Setter Jas Nabor tossed 21 excellent sets.
The Crossovers last reached the finals in 2021 in Bacarra, Ilocos Sur when they bagged their first-ever title in the league’s Open Conference when star middle blocker Jaja Santiago, now known as Sachi Minowa, led the team.
Chery Tiggo seeks the crown on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, taking on the winner between the Creamline and the PLDT.
“Unang-una, thank you. Nakaka-proud iyong team, iyong players namin, kasama ang coaching staff. . . Masaya kasi hindi naman talaga madali iyong pinagdadaanan namin especially this past few days mayroong mga players talaga na hindi nakaka-attend kasi may sakit,” Crossovers coach Norman Miguel said.
“Kailangang pag-isipang adjustment iyong nangyari plus bukod pa doon sa mga players na present sa training, mayroon pa rin silang kailangan, you know, i-ayos sa mga injuries nila. So, buti nalang na-manage namin siya and ito na, ito na iyong resulta,” he added.
Opposite spiker Erika Santos’s 26-point performance was not enough to lift Cignal along with Ishie Lalongisip’s 13-marker outing.
