BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — Chery Tiggo completed its comeback, turning back Choco Mucho in Game Three via a 25-16, 26-24, 25-23 victory to barge its way into the finals of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Arena, Tuesday.
The Crossovers will be going up against the Creamline Cool Smashers for the first professional title in the history of Philippine volleyball.
“First of all, thank you Lord for always gracing us with good health and strength every time,” said Chery Tiggo head coach Aaron Velez after the win.
“The players were so committed in our system, to each other. The trust is like a family for us so we know that we’re going to back up each other,” he added.
Down by as much as two points, Chery Tiggo managed to take the lead, 21-20 in the third set after an ace from Jasmine Nabor and a kill from Dindin Santiago-Manabat.
A rotational fault from Choco Mucho extended the lead to two but Ponggay Gaston answered back to cut it down to one.
Santiago-Manabat scored in the ensuing set before committing a service error which put the scores at 23-22 in favor of the Crossovers.
Kat Tolentino tied the ball game at 23-all through an off-the-block hit.
Mylene Paat put Chery Tiggo at match-point with an off-the-block hit off her own an error from the side of the Flying Titans spelled their doom, 25-23.
Jaja Santiago poured a game-high 17 points while Santiago-Manabat collected 16 points off 13 attacks, two aces, and a block laced with 10 excellent digs.
Jasmine Nabor produced 28 excellent sets while Buding Duremdes patrolled the floor with 17 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions.
On the other hand, Kat Tolentino led Choco Mucho with 12 points while Maddie Madayag added 11 markers in the loss.
Caitlyn Viray — who played her best game in the tournament — contributed nine points while Denden Lazaro-Revilla had 15 digs and 11 receptions.
The Flying Titans took Game One through a 25-18, 25-22, 25-21 outing before the Crossovers tied the series after a 25-18, 25-22, 26-24 sweep in Game Two.
“It’s been two years. In volleyball, it’s really bilog ang bola so like I said credit also to Choco Mucho for giving a good fight and they were able to push us to our full potential and hopefully, we can sustain it,” said Velez.
The Chery Tiggo-Creamline finals bout will begin tomorrow at 5:00 PM while the Choco Mucho-Petro Gazz battle for bronze will start at 3:00 PM.
