Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ EJ Laure.–PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Chery Tiggo did an almost impossible feat after toppling defending champion Creamline, 25-18, 26-24, 25-23, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.
The Crossovers halted the Cool Smashers’ 19-game winning streak dating back to the previous All-Filipino Conference, while also redeeming themselves after two consecutive defeats.
Eya Laure, Cza Carandang and Ara Galang spearheaded Chery Tiggo’s offense in its third win in five games while Jen Nierva put up a defensive clinic with 20 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024
Laure, wanting to bounce back from a tough stretch, poured in 14 points including two aces and a kill off the block for match point that dealt Creamline its first loss in five games this conference.
“Creamline, sila yung nasa taas, kami nasa baba ngayon. Sabi nga ng mga coaches, mas hungry dapat kami na abutin yung taas kasi sila yung, defending champion,” Laure said after Chery Tiggo’s victory in front of a mostly pink-adorned faithful.
“Siguro mas hungry. Yun yung term talaga na laging pinapaalala sa amin ni Tyang Aby [Marano] na maging hungry kami sa mga game, kasi wake-up call yung nangyari sa amin sa Farm Fresh. Yun talaga, ramdam na ramdam namin yung gising,” she added.
Carandang followed suit with 12 points from nine attacks and three blocks and Galang added 10 points that came with six excellent digs to humble Creamline with the sweep, its first straight-set defeat since the 2019 Reinforced Conference against Petro Gazz.
It was also the Crossovers’ first win against the Cool Smashers since claiming the 2021 Open Conference title in a five-set thriller in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte—their first and only championship.
READ: PVL: Farm Fresh shows improvement with win over Chery Tiggo
The Cool Smashers shot themselves in the foot with costly errors while also struggling to figure out the Crossovers’ attacks.
“One step at a time, eto sanang panalo namin, masabi rin sana namin na kaya naming lumaban as a team. Teamwork lang,” Laure said. “Isa rin naman yun sa mga dreams din namin na sana kung merong mga naka-pink, kahit papano i-achieve naman na kalahati next time.”
Down 2-0, Creamline tried to avoid a sweep, charging to an 8-4 lead in the deciding frame. But Chery Tiggo just wouldn’t let a golden opportunity slip away.
Carandang and Galang took turns scoring to keep Chery Tiggo in the game. A Galang hit knotted the count at 15 before Mylene Paat put Chery Tiggo at match point and Laure delivered the final blow off the block.
“Pero yung mga ilan naming supporters, natutuwa na kami, kasi sobra nilang fighter. Chine-cherish namin yun at sobrang na-appreciate namin yung pag-cheer nila sa amin, kasi siyempre, player kami,” she said. “Yan yung hahanapin namin na pampagana. Malaking bagay na may mga sumusuporta sa amin, tumatawag ng pangalan namin at walang sawang chini-cheer kami. Siyempre lalaban talaga.”
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Chery Tiggo looks to pull off another stunner against streaking Petro Gazz on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum while Creamline tries to get back on track against lowly Capital1.
