Crossovers pull out right stops in pipping Perlas Spikers

The Crossovers led by towering sisters Dindin Manabat (left) and Jaja Santiago (center) huddle after wrapping up their straight-sets victory over the Perlas Spikers. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

ILOCOS NORTE—Chery Tiggo repeatedly found ways to get out of trouble against Perlas on Monday and pulled out a 25-10, 27-25, 25-23 victory to continue stalking the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference elimination round leaders at PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center in Bacarra.

The one-hour, 21-minute victory served as redemption for a team that kicked off its campaign with back-to-back victories, only to drop an ego-deflating five-setter to BaliPure last Thursday.

But against the Spikers, the Crossovers faced a rival still reeling from a straight-set loss to Choco Mucho the previous night and adjusting to the level of pro play after a weeklong delayed debut.

They romped without a hitch in the opening set, pulled through in an extended duel in the next then flashed resiliency in the momentum-swinging third frame.

“Definitely, I’m happy. A win is a win,” said Chery Tiggo coach Aaron Velez. “But there’s a lot of work to do and we can’t relax.”

Being complacent, according to Velez, had led to their loss to BaliPure, and perhaps in the second set against the Spikers, and Velez could only hope his wards would learn from the experience as they look beyond the single round elims.

“It’s already done and we just have to take it as a learning experience moving forward,” he added.

With a 3-1 mark, Chery Tiggo did improve to solo third while dealing Perlas its second loss in as many games.

Jaja Santiago led Chery Tiggo with 15 hits, while Shaya Adorador backed her up with 12 points, including four aces, and later bagged the game’s top honors. Dindin Manabat added eight points with Arianne Layug chipping in seven hits for the Crossovers, who also dominated the net with nine blocks against the Spikers’ two.

Sue Roces flashed vintage form to power the Spikers for majority of the third set, finishing with 11 points.

Finally getting into the groove, the Spikers came out of the third set smoking, taking six of the first seven points, aided by a Chery Tiggo mishit. They held sway at 11-7 before the Crossovers, behind Adorador, Santiago, Mylene Paat and Rachel Austero combined for six points for a 13-12 lead.

Meanwhile, streaking Choco Mucho tries to pounce on a slumping Cignal HD side in an attempt to match sister team Creamline’s 4-0 start as they clash at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, while Petro Gazz seeks solo third against winless PLDT Home Fibr in the 6 p.m. main game.