Games Thursday:
(Philsports Arena)
2:30 p.m. –- PLDT vs Creamline
5:30 p.m. –- F2 Logistics vs Choco Mucho
Chery Tiggo rolled past undermanned F2 Logistics for an easy 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, victory to put its title aspirations in motion in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Crossovers spoiled the PVL return of the limping Cargo Movers, who played without American import Lindsay Stalzer and had to convert a couple of players to libero position with Dawn Macandili out to rest an undisclosed injury.
Local wingers Mylene Paat and EJ Laure provided the numbers on offense with Montenegrin import Jelena Cvijovic debuting with a quiet six points for Chery Tiggo, which finished eighth in the Invitational Conference.
The Crossovers had a flat start but were quick to regain their form to crush the hard-luck Cargo Movers in just an hour and 33 minutes.
With Cvijovic struggling on offense, it was Cherry Tiggo’s locals who shouldered the scoring load.
“We’re really happy with the result. As we kept saying we need our locals to perform to help our import for us to win. We had a good start and we sustained it,” Crossovers coach Clarence Esteban said.
Chery Tiggo also dampened the debut of Filipino-American hitter Kalei Mau, who tried desperately to breathe new life into the Cargo Movers late in the third set.
Mau scored two of the three saved match points of F2 Logistics including the service ace that pushed her team within two, 22-24, only to see the Cargo Movers commit an error in the next play.
Laure dropped three straight points in the telling 6-0 scoring barrage that helped Chery Tiggo steal the opening set after trailing, 19-23, to set the tone for the rout.
Paat had 16 points all coming off attacks, Laure had 11 while Cvijovic got 10 excellent receptions and seven digs for Chery Tiggo.
F2 Logistics had a less-than-ideal start for their comeback tournament after skipping the mid-season Invitational Conference as returning reinforcement Stalzer entered health and safety protocols.
Stalzer is expected to exit the mandatory quarantine on Wednesday and will be able to suit up on Thursday against Choco Mucho.
Middle Aby Marano and spiker Ara Galang had to wear the libero uniform for Macandili, who has no specific timetable for returning to action. Tin Tiamzon was also unavailable for the Benson Bocboc-mentored squad.
Mau finished with 20 points while Kim Kianna Dy had nine markers for the Cargo Movers, who threw away 26 points off errors.