CHERY Tiggo passed a tough Creamline test in five sets, 25-20, 24-26, 21-25, 25-17, 17-15, in the 2025 PVL Invitational on Saturday at the Philsports Arena.
A late net touch infraction on Alyssa Valdez put an end to a pulsating fifth-set tug-of-war.
Ara Galang pulled off a mighty 20-piece to save Chery Tiggo from the jaws of defeat, backed by a solid string of clutch hits and blocks from rookie winger Renee Penafiel who had 18 points in total.
"Bounce back lang talaga yung kailangan namin ngayon eh. Hindi kami kailangang mag-dwell du’n sa big loss namin. Kailangan naming ma-redeem sarili namin," Galang said.
"Bumalik lang kami, mas naging composed kami at [bumalik] yung teamwork din namin."
The win pushed the Crossovers to solo second place with a 2-1 record, one game behind league leader and preseason champion PLDT at 3-0.
Excluding their carried-over win over Cignal, this is only Chery Tiggo’s first win of the 10-day Invitational tournament.
This was Chery Tiggo's first win against Creamline in 17 months since busting the latter's record 19-game win streak in the 2024 All-Filipino Conference.
Cess Robles fired a triple-double of 16 points, 10 digs and 10 receptions.
Pedal to the metal
Chery Tiggo bucked a slow start with a 10-3 finish to the first set, overturning a 14-17 hole to take the driver's seat early.
Galang towed the preseason runners-up to set point in the second frame right before a three-point charge from Valdez, Galanza and Lorie Bernardo drew the Cool Smashers even.
As Creamline cruised to a two sets to one lead, the Crossovers built a nine-point edge in Set 4 aided by 12 of Creamline's 34 unforced errors in that canto alone.
The Cool Smashers reached match point first at 14-13 through Pangs Panaga's quick hit before Valdez' net fault infraction at Chery Tiggo's second match point capped a heated two-hour, 39-minute contest.
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