By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Chery Tiggo fought back from a tight second set before toppling Nxled, 25-22, 26-24, 25-12, at the start of the play-in tournament for the remaining two quarterfinal berths in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday, March 6.
The Crossovers encountered brief resistance from the Chameleons headed by Chiara Permentilla but held their composure en route to their first win in this round-robin phase.
Another victory for Chery Tiggo against Farm Fresh in Pool A on Tuesday, March 11, would earn them a ticket to the next round.
Ara Galang displayed her vintage form for Chery Tiggo and joined forces with Ces Robles by dropping 15 points apiece apart from combining for 27 kills that weakened Nxled’s defense.
Shaya Adorador was equally impressive, pumping in 14 points including back-to-back kills that won the second frame for the Crossovers.
Adorador said they drew strength from their last defeat against Choco Mucho, where they failed to close out their game strongly.
“Naging challenge samin yung last game. Maganda yung pinakita namin dun pero wala kaming panapos. Sabi namin, sana malutas na siya for (today’s game). Winork out naman namin,” she said.
Chery Tiggo was actually dictating the tempo from the start and was leading 17-13 in the second when EJ Laure and Permentilla breathed life for Nxled, attacking the net at all angles to tie it at 23-all.
Galang’s crosscourt hit put the Crossovers at set point, but Permentilla tried to keep the Chameleons afloat by answering back with her own smash.
Adorador, however, was there to the rescue to clinch the set win, setting the tone heading into the third frame.
Laure led Nxled’s scorers with 15 points, while Permentilla had 12 points to no avail.
Later in the day, Cignal overcame Capital1’s second-set rally with a 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, to inch closer to a quarters seat.
The HD Spikers torched the net by unloading 63 kills — 20 coming from Gandler — to compensate for their 28 unforced errors.
Gandler finished with 21 points and got help from Roselyn Doria and Ishie Lalongisip, who poured in 18 and 15 points, respectively.
