FOCUSED on its goal, Chery Tiggo beat NxLed yesterday 25-22, 26-24, 25-19 to grab the head start in the Play-In tournament of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Wing spikers Cess Robles and Shaya Adorador made their presence felt in offense and defense for the Crossovers, with the former tallying 15 points, nine excellent receptions and seven digs, while the latter sizzled with a double-double outing of 14 markers and 11 digs.
“Sobrang proud ako sa team namin na talagang nakikita namin na iyong isa’t isa gustong ilaban iyong pinagpapaguran every training, iyong efforts nina coach na i-feed sa amin na iyong lahat gagawin namin. Sobrang nakaka-proud and thank you, Lord,” said Adorador.
Adorador surge set the tone for Chery Tiggo’s most decisive set, where they dismantled Nxled’s resistance with a well-rounded attack on their way to a one-hour, 39-minute romp.
Risa Sato’s emphatic kill block on Krich Macaslang punctuated another Chery Tiggo scoring spree, stretching their lead to 16-10. From there, the Crossovers never looked back, deflecting every comeback attempt and capitalizing on the Chameleons’ faltering execution. An Ara Galang hit and a Macaslang attack error widened the gap to 19-10, effectively sealing Nxled’s fate as the Chameleons ran out of steam.
The league, organized by Sports Vision, takes a brief but welcome weekend break.
Chery Tiggo resumes its chase for a quarterfinal berth against the Farm Fresh Foxies Tuesday next week.
The six teams that missed direct qualification are battling for the last two quarterfinal slots in a novel round-robin format featuring two groups, with each side’s top finisher advancing to the best-of-three quarterfinals.
Chery Tiggo coach Norman Miguel outmaneuvered counterpart Guidetti Ettore in crucial endgame adjustments, guiding the Crossovers to victory in the first two sets through strategic plays and a combination of stellar floor and net defense.
EJ Laure spearheaded Nxled’s offense with 15 points, determined to lift the Chameleons against her former team in the first two sets. However, she lacked sufficient offensive support, with only Chiara Permentilla contributing significantly with 12 points.
The rest of the squad struggled, as May Luna-Lumahan and Jaycel Delos Reyes managed just five points apiece, while Jaila Atienza, Lycha Ebon and Macaslang combined for only nine markers.
