FILE–Chery Tiggo Crossovers. PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Dindin Santiago-Manabat and the Chery Tiggo Crossovers are ready to redeem themselves in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitationals.
After failing to defend their title run with a disappointing eighth place finish in the Open Conference, Manabat said her team is eager to bring back Chery Tiggo on top.
“We’re really hungry to win and we want to show a good performance. We’re taking it one step at a time and we’re not pressuring ourselves. But our goal is to bring back Chery on top,” she said in Filipino.
The Crossovers will miss former Open Conference and Finals MVP Jaja Santiago due to her commitment in Japan, skipping the PVL for the second straight tournament.
But the 28-year-old spiker stressed that their team is not just relying on her 6-foot-5 sister as her teammates Mylene Paat, Buding Duremdes, Jasmine Nabor, and EJ Laure are out to prove themselves.
“We’re not depending everything on Jaja. Everyone from our team wants to show better performance and execute the new program of our new coach,” Manabat said.
New head coach Clarence Esteban put premium on floor defense and service reception on his mission to lift the Crossovers from just winning two of their six matches in the first conference.
“So far, we’re doing good in training. Our coach intensified our floor defense training because it’s what we lacked in the last conference. We also focused on service receive and blockings,” Manabat said.
Chery Tiggo opens its Invitationals campaign against Choco Mucho on July 9 at San Juan Arena.
All seven teams will clash in a single round-robin with the top four advancing to the semifinals with Kobe Shinwa University of Japan and KingWhale Taipei for another round.