CHERY Tiggo dodged a late Pool A upset by cutting Galeries Tower down to size, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference last Thursday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Ara Galang was in her vintage form as she finished with 16 points built on 11 attacks and five kill blocks.
The victory allowed the Crossovers to seal the third-seed, entering Pool C at 4-1, while leaving the Pool D-bound Highrisers winless in five first-round matches.
“‘Yung teamwork namin (mahalaga) kasi although may import, kailangan kasi matulungan din namin siya. Hindi pwedeng aasa lang kami sa kanya,” Galang said.
“Kailangan kaming locals, pagtrabahuan namin para mas madali sa kanya at mas madali sa buong team.”
Although Khat Bell still topped the scoresheets with 25 points, 12 receptions and eight digs, she was held back by recurring back problems which limited her playing time in the final set.
Bell and Galang proved lethal in keeping the Crossovers afloat in the face of late Highrisers comeback bids by the last two frames.
Chery Tiggo fired six unanswered points from 19-23 down to win Set 3 and took it up a notch come Set 4 with a match-clinching 9-0 run from a 16-all deadlock.
France Ronquillo’s 13-piece and back-to-back 12-point outings from Graze Bombita and Andrea Marzan paced yet another brave stand that just went for naught in the end.
Highrisers' Sutadta Chuewulim was one point shy of a triple-double with nine points, 18 receptions and 16 digs, as floor defense became the Thai import's strong suit in the loss.
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