BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — With their finals bid hanging in the balance, Jasmine Nabor and Jaja Santiago had a heart-to-heart talk to address the elephant in the room.
Chery Tiggo, despite finishing the elimination round at the second spot with a 7-2 standing, had one problem that haunted them in the past games.
It was the connection between the Crossovers’ prized setter and undisputed star.
“Nung Game One tsaka Two, sobrang wala kaming connection sa isa’t isa.
“Tapos kagabi nagusap kami tsaka kanina na kailangan yung connection namin nandon sa Game Three,” shared the 23-year-old Nabor.
“Kasi nung mga past few games parang hindi kami nagtutugma ni Jasmine. Bago kami mag-start ng laro sabi ko na kahit anong bigay sa akin ni Jasmine papaluin ko. Kaya sabi ko kahit ano mangyari kakapitan namin ito,” echoed Santiago.
And the talk definitely showed results as the Cherry Tiggo 1-2 punch steered the squad to a 25-16, 26-24, 25-23 Game Three victory over Choco Mucho at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center here.
With their rhythm finally back on track, Nabor finished with a game-best 28 excellent sets while Santiago unloaded a series-best 17 points.
“Kasi sobrang laking factor na may connection kaming dalawa kasi siyempre siya talaga yung binabantayan ng kalaban,” explained Nabor, “so kapag maganda connection namin. Mas maganda yung pagbigay ko sa iba ng bola kasi minsan laging sumasabay sa kanya yung blockers so sobrang importante na magkaroon kami ng connection.
“Sobrang laki na ng improvement niya. Kumbaga mas nachachallenge ako kasi may mga fast plays na siya so mas natututp ako simula nung nagsama kami ulit tapos yung pagiging leader niya talaga sobrang nadadala niya kami.”
Heading to the finals of the first-ever professional volleyball league here in the country, Nabor is just glad to finally unleash the beast that is Santiago.
And she vows to further improve their connection in the grand finals against a streaking Creamline squad led by Alyssa Valdez.
“Sobrang saya namin kasi napuntahan namin yung goal talaga ng bawat isa sa amin,” said the National University product.
“Lahat ng mga sinakripisyo namin simula una sobrang worth it tapos yung tiwala namin sa isa’t isa at yung tiwala ng coaches na binibigay sa amin napatunayan namin sa kanila.”
