Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ rookie spiker Renee Peñafiel during a PVL Invitational tournament game. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Chery Tiggo bounced back from a rough start in the PVL Invitational by outlasting Creamline in five sets, 25-20, 24-26, 21-25, 25-17, 17-15, on Saturday at Philsports Arena.
The Crossovers, coming off a straight-sets loss to PLDT, showed better composure this time as they fought from a 1-2 set deficit and a 2-6 hole in the fifth set before pulling through in two hours and 25 minutes.
SCHEDULE: 2025 PVL Invitational tournament
Rookie spiker Renee Peñafiel delivered her best game yet, finishing with 18 points built on three aces and three blocks. Her stop of Michele Gumabao at 15-all in the decider set up match point, and Gumabao’s service error on the next play ended the match.
“Very grateful and happy that we’re able to fight our way through,” said Peñafiel, who was named Best Player of the Game. “We didn’t play like ourselves in our last game so we needed to get back on track.”
“We’re all exhausted but we fought until the end, we didn’t want our efforts to go to waste.”
Chery Tiggo Crossovers celebrate a point against Creamline Cool Smashers during a PVL Invitational tournament game. –PVL PHOTO
Ara Galang set the tone for the Crossovers with 20 points, while Cess Robles contributed 16 along with 10 digs and 10 receptions. Pauline Gaston sparked off the bench with 10 markers, and Cza Carandang chipped in five.
Creamline leaned on Jema Galanza, who fired 23 points. Gumabao and Alyssa Valdez added 21 and 17 in a losing effort.
The Cool Smashers had rallied from one set down to take a 2-1 lead but could not finish the job. Chery Tiggo forced a decider with a strong fourth set and then relied on defense and timely hitting to outlast the league’s most seasoned squad.
Coach Norman Miguel’s adjustments, including using Gaston and Jyne Soreno in key stretches, also helped Chery Tiggo stabilize after shaky stretches.
The win lifted Chery Tiggo to 2-1, behind only unbeaten PLDT (3-0). Creamline dropped to 1-2 and will need to bounce back quickly to stay in semifinal contention.
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