LIPA CITY — Ces Molina delivered the clutch hits as PetroGazz stunned Chery Tiggo with a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11 victory to earn a share of lead in the PNVF Champions League on Sunday at the Aquamarine Sports Complex.
Molina took matters into her own hands with the game on the line, leading the Angels to matchpoint, 14-10, with a crucial attack before joining hands with Ria Meneses for the game-winning block.
Its second straight win enabled PetroGazz to catch F2 Logistics for the early lead ahead of their crucial 4 p.m. duel on Monday.
Chery Tiggo fades
The Angels crawled their way back from a 1-2 set down but squandered a 7-4 spread in the fifth set as Dindin Santiago-Manabat pushed the Crossovers ahead, 8-9.
PetroGazz was able to contain Manabat late in the fifth with their well-coordinated net and floor defense, setting the stage for Molina’s late-game heroics.
Chery Tiggo dropped to 1-1, failing to sustain its momentum from its four-set victory over Tuguegarao on Saturday.
The Crossovers try to bounce back against the winless California Precision Sports (0-2) on Monday at 1:30 pm.
Manabat’s 37-point explosion went for naught as Molina and Co. got the last laugh to strengthen their title quest in this single round robin tournament.
Molina scored 13 and had 14 excellent receptions and 12 digs, while Pablo topscored with 14 points coming off the bench for PetroGazz.
Meneses also chimed in 13 markers including three blocks. Grethcel Soltones added 10 points, while Remy Palma scattered four blocks, three aces and two attacks to finish with nine points.
Manabat tallied the tournament-best 35 attacks and two blocks to spearhead Chery Tiggo. Mylene Paat delivered 13 points, while Justine Dorog added 10 markers, eight excellent receptions and seven digs.