PVL: Chery Tiggo rookie Karen Verdeflor impresses in debut

Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ rookie Karen Verdeflor. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Chery Tiggo rookie Karen Verdeflor impressed coach KungFu Reyes and returning American spiker Khat Bell on her professional debut.

Verdeflor, Chery Tiggo’s only draft pick last week, provided a steady floor defense including four excellent receptions in their dominant 25-13, 27-25, 25-22 win over Farm Fresh in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference opener on Tuesday at Philsports Arena.

Bell made a bang in her first game in Manila in four years, scoring 23 points on her PVL debut. 

The biggest change she noticed was the faster game and impressive floor defense of the liberos including her rookie teammate Verdeflor.

SCHEDULE: 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference 

“The game is faster, the defense,  the liberos in this league right now is amazing,” said Bell, who last played for the defunct Petron in 2020. “Speaking of Karen, I think she’s absolutely stunning. She’s such a dog and I’ve enjoyed being able to play with her this past few days and I just can’t wait to see her develop even more for sure.”

Verdeflor is taking care of the Crossovers’ floor with Buding Duremdes as the team missed main libero Jen Nierva with leading scorer Eya Laure due to their commitment to Alas Pilipinas.

Reyes felt blessed that the stars aligned for Chery Tiggo in the Rookie Draft last week with the Adamson libero being available for their ninth overall pick.

READ: PVL: Khat Bell dominates in return, steers Chery past Farm Fresh

“Karen has been a very steady kid since her college days. That’s why in the draft, we were lucky that she was still available during our turn,” said the Chery Tiggo coach in Filipino. “We’re surprised that other teams passed on her because we were praying to have her. Luckily, we got her. She was number one on our wishlist.”

The veteran coach said Verdeflor plays like Nierva but shows a different version of stability.

Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

“It’s like that Jen is still playing for us but she provides a different version. Our offense was easier because of her good first ball,” Reyes said.

Reyes and the Crossovers are no longer dwelling with the absence of Nierva and Laure as they have the pieces to fill in the holes with Verdeflor and Duremdes manning the floor defense and Bell providing enough firepower with wing spikers Ara Galang, Mary Rhose Dapol, Mylene Paat, Shaya Adorador, and Cess Robles.

“We’re not focusing on their return, we’re focusing on what we have, especially this core,” he said.

Chery Tiggo eyes its second win in Pool A against Nxled, which prevailed over Galeries on opening day. 

“We saw their net defense so we’ll try to penetrate. We will execute the small or big adjustments for our team,” Reyes said.