Chery Tiggo taps Seth Rodriguez, Bingle Landicho

FILE–Seth Rodriguez during her stint with Petro Gazz. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Chery Tiggo has acquired middle blocker Seth Rodriguez and defensive specialist Bingle Landicho ahead of the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season, which opens with the All-Filipino Conference on February 4.

The Crossovers on Wednesday welcomed Rodriguez from champion team Petro Gazz and Landicho, who played as a libero for Akari last season.

Rodriguez, a seldom-used 5-foot-10 middle blocker, hopes to come out of her shell with her new team Chery Tiggo after spending the past three years with Petro Gazz as a bench player.

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“With all the learnings I’ve gotten from my years with Petro Gazz, I experienced a lot of ups and downs, being on top, falling short. I think as an athlete I want to explore, check my potential and maximize it with Chery Tiggo,” said Rodriguez in Filipino. 

“Ever since, I always hear from coaches and other people saying I have potential. Personally, I don’t want to end with potential,” she added.

The former University of the East Lady Red Warrior seeks to follow in the footsteps of Chery Tiggo’s middle blocker Cza Carandang, who had a breakthrough in the 2022 Reinforced Conference.

“I want to come out of my shell and learn from this decision to transfer. Hopefully, I will discover the extent of my potential,” Rodriguez said. “I was inspired by ate Cza Carandang after she boomed as a middle blocker and matched at the level and intensity of veteran middle blockers. I hope I can also reach that level under their program.”

It will be Rodriguez’s fifth club team after playing for the defunct Pocari Sweat from 2017 to 2018 followed by a one-year stint with Marinerang Pilipina in the Philippine Superliga before transferring to Petro Gazz, which she was part of the recent Reinforced Conference title run.

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Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo strengthen its floor defense with Landicho, who played as a service specialist for National University in UAAP Season 81 in 2019 and served as a libero for Akari in its first PVL tournament last year.

Besides Rodriguez and Landicho, the Crossovers also signed Ponggay Gaston after star spiker Dindin Santiago-Manabat parted ways with the franchise after six years and joined the Chargers.

Chery Tiggo, led by Reinforced MVP Mylene Paat, looks to surpass its fourth-place finish in PVL’s season-ending tournament last December.