Chery Tiggo mirrored Petro Gazz’s dominant performance as it drubbed Capital1 with a resounding 25-6, 25-15, 25-15 victory to cap the opening day of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Tuesday night.
Relentless in offense, the Crossovers also proved unforgiving in defense, limiting the league’s other newcomer to a mere six-point output in the first set and comfortably secured 10-point romps in the next two frames, sealing their 67-minute win.
Capital1 saved two match points on attacks but Shyra Umandal served long in the following play, handing the victory to the Crossovers, who showcased superiority in spikes (42-20) and serves (9-2) over the Solar Spikers.
Ara Galang marked her debut for Chery Tiggo with nine hits, two aces and one block for a 12-point output to earn the game’s top honors. The former F2 Logistics hitter later expressed excitement about playing with her new teammates and emphasized a smooth adjustment to the team, pledging to work harder in their upcoming matches.
“First game, excited lahat at masaya akong maglaro with my new teammates,” said Galang. “Hindi naman mahirap (mag-adjust), pero madami pang kailangan gawin.”
While the Solar Spikers rebounded from their first-set struggles, they lacked the resources to contend with the former PVL Open Conference champions, whose near-seamless offense and stellar defense augured well for the team which placed fourth in the last AFC.
Still, like Strong Group, Capital1 anticipates improvement from the defeat as they gear up against the Farm Fresh Foxies on Feb. 29.
Mylene Paat also shone with 11 points, all on attacks, while Aby Maraño, the team’s other new recruit, added six hits in a two-set appearance. Pauline Gaston and EJ Laure matched five-point outputs while Eya Laure and Cess Robles took the backseat and settled for four points apiece.
Playmaker Joyme Cagande scored six of Chery Tiggo’s 11 excellent sets in stark contrast to Capital1’s one excellent set output courtesy of Jhudielle Quizon.
Janine Navarro tried to carry the cudgels for Capital1 but could only finish with six points while Sydney Niegos and Patty Orendain added five markers each and Arriane Layug and Umandal had two points apiece.