Unbeaten Chery Tiggo booked the first spot in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference semifinals with a gutsy five-set triumph over UAI-Army, 22-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 15-12, on Thursday at PhilSports Arena.
With their fifth win in as many games, the Crossovers secured their place at the top of the standings while sending the Lady Troopers to the brink of elimination on a 0-4 (win-loss) record.
Mylene Paat had another game to remember as he dealt the final blow on the winless Lady Troopers to finish with 23 points on 21 attacks, to go with two blocks and 12 digs.
But the heavy-hitting Chery Tiggo skipper was far from being finished, spearheading the Crossovers’ assault in the fourth and delivering the first point after Royse Tubino scored on back-to-back hits to open the fifth set for the Lady Troopers.
Paat also scored the third point to put Chery Tiggo on top, a lead the Crossovers would never relinquish as they formalized their stint in the next round with five straight wins while dealing the luckless Lady Troopers their fourth straight defeat in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
The Crossovers also toughened up on net defense, scoring three clutch blocks, including back-to-back off Jovelyn Gonzaga and import Laura Condotta that made it 10-6 for Chery Tiggo after Army threatened at 6-7 on a Gonzaga kill.
Still, the Lady Troopers refused to give up as Tubino took charge and scored three of Army’s last four points, the last putting the team back at 12-14 before Paat soared for another kill that wrapped it all up for the league’s inaugural pro champions.
