Chery Tiggo overcame a lackadaisical start to halt PLDT’s five-game winning streak, 14-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-19, in the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference, Saturday night at the Philsports Arena.
The Crossovers buried its slow opening-set performance before making a splash in the next three sets.
They now hold the solo second spot with a 6-1 win-loss record after almost two hours of action against the High Speed Hitters.
“Syempre ano, maganda yung reaction ng players. We worked as a team kasi yung adjustments… nag-adjust na kami. Yung first unit namin ‘di naging ganun ka aggressive, siguro slow start ulit or talagang mas ano lang ang blocking ni PLDT,” said Chery Tiggo deputy Kungfu Reyes.
“Talagang nakita mo naman lagpas ang siko (kapag nag-block) sa net so that’s why kahit anong atake namin nung first set, dulo dulo kasi nga kargado na yung serve so unstable yung first ball namin,” he added.
The Crossovers survived an extended third set after Savannah Davison committed a service error that put the game at 26-all.
Pauline Gaston then blocked Dell Palomata before Mylene Paat delivered a booming ace that gave their side a 2-1 edge.
In the fourth frame, Chery Tiggo got a huge boost after Rhea Dimaculangan and Erika Santos committed consecutive errors.
That then sparked a 3-0 spurt which gave the Crossovers a 20-16 advantage.
PLDT traded hits with Chery Tiggo before Eya Laure scored an off-the-block hit, followed by a Paat block on Davison that extended their lead to five, 23-18.
Dell Palomata kept the High Speed Hitters afloat with a quick attack,but Paat sent the Crossovers at match point with a cross-court hit.
Jasmine Nabor eventually ended the game with a kill.
“Si Jasmine (Nabor) kahit anong bato sa dulo bumabalik then wala kaming pasa. Unstable ang depensa kasi nga ibabaw ang palo sa’min, and wala kaming masyadong good na first ball saka malambot yung serve namin nung first set,” said Reyes.
“So adjust kami ng tao, adjust kami ng karga sa serve, sa block, tapos unti-unti nararamdaman namin na halos gumagaan na.”
The younger Laure took charge of the offense anew for Chery Tiggo with 18 points on 18 attacks to go along with 11 excellent receptions.
Meanwhile, EJ Laure and Gaston chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Paat added 11 points while Cza Carandang, who was inserted into the starting unit to replace the injured Imee Hernandez, had 10 points.
Nabor tossed 19 excellent sets to go along with four points.
Buding Duremdes and Jennifer Nierva took turns in defending the floor, tallying 15 and 12 excellent receptions, respectively, in the victory.
On the other hand, Davison paced the High Speed Hitters with 16 points built on 11 attacks and five blocks.
Meanwhile, Santos and Palomata added 14 and 13 markers, respectively.
PLDT slid to fourth with a 5-2 record.
Chery Tiggo will take a one-week break before facing Cignal on November 21, 4:00 PM at the same Pasig arena. Meanwhile, PLDT looks to bounce back against defending champion Creamline on November 18, 6:00 PM in Cagayan de Oro.
