Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the PVL Invitationals. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — With their back against the wall after three straight losses, Chery Tiggo head coach Clarence Esteban is urging setter Jasmine Nabor and his remaining players to step up as they try to save their dimming semifinals chances in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference.
EJ Laure, Alina Bicar, and Justine Dorog returned to the line-up from the health and safety protocols but the woes continued for the Crossovers after falling on the brink of elimination with a 23-25, 16-25, 18-25 loss to Cignal on Saturday at San Juan Arena.
Chery Tiggo continued to miss the presence of Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who is still recovering from an ankle sprain, and libero Buding Duremdes and Joy Dacoron due to health and safety protocols. But given their depleted line-up, Esteban said he has been instilling in his remaining players to have a next-man-up mentality.
“Our team is still carrying the burden of our missing key players,” said the new Chery Tiggo coach in Filipino. “We’re instilling to the remaining players to step up and keep on fighting for the team for us to win.”
“Dindin really wants to recover quickly but until now she can’t jump. She’s still in the process of improving her walk. But our physical therapist doesn’t want to force her in regaining her jumping ability at this stage. Buding is also a huge missing factor, too,” he added.
After losing three straight matches, Esteban is leaning on Nabor to bring out the best of their spikers led by Mylene Paat, Shaya Adorador, and EJ Laure by executing their new plays and system in their hope to resuscitate their semifinals chances.
“I want Nabor to step up. Because we’re instilling the new system on her way of setting. If she can make it work, our offense will run smoothly,” he said “Our spikers have the skills, it’s up to her on maximizing those skills.”
Esteban will make the most of their five-day break as they try to get their first win against the winless Petro Gazz on Thursday in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
“We’re trying to avoid the negativity so it will no longer add more burden to our team. We move on from our losses. We’re taking it one game at a time,” he said.
Only the top four of the seven-team field will advance to the next round, joining Kobe Shinwa University of Japan and KingWhale Taipei.