Chery Tiggo celebrates a victory forged with strong contributions from Jyne Soreño (No. 19). —PVL IMAGES
Bella Belen spent most of Saturday watching from the sidelines, her Capital1 teammates locked in a fierce duel she could only cheer.
“There’s a bit of regret, like thinking I should already be playing, but I know I just need to wait since I’m still with the national team for now,” said the three-time UAAP MVP out of National University.
The first overall pick still awaiting her pro debut, Belen soaked up every rally, hopeful her new squad would finally break through.
READ: PVL: Bella Belen joins Capital1 sidelines as she awaits her debut
She nearly witnessed it.
Drawing from a mix of veteran composure and rookie audacity, Chery Tiggo still needed every ounce of composure to fend off the Solar Spikers via a 20-25, 25-23, 25-12, 28-26 victory in a PVL On Tour match in Montalban, Rizal, that unfolded like a tale of two teams discovering their identities.
Heading into the match with a morale weighed down by back-to-back losses, Capital1 didn’t play like a squad resigned to a third straight loss. Even after a lopsided loss in the third set, they clawed back behind Sydney Niego and Trisha Genesis.
READ: PVL: Chery Tiggo gets preseason bid going, fends off Capital1
The Solar Spikers, in fact, summoned enough grit to push Chery Tiggo to the brink in a fourth-set tug-of-war that featured nervy exchanges.
At 25-24, when Niego uncorked a booming hit that inched Capital1 toward a decider, the Ynares Center held its breath in anticipation of a potential upset.
But Chery Tiggo’s youth movement had other plans. Rookie Ren Peñafiel calmly punched in a block touch that tied it once more. Moments later, the Solar Spikers unraveled under pressure—committing three straight attack errors.
Shola Alvarez’s final wide hit handed the Crossovers the match after two hours and three minutes of high-wire drama.
No newcomer shone brighter than Jyne Soreño. The lefty hitter out of La Salle, pressed into a starting role with Ara Galang and Jen Nierva unavailable, delivered 15 points in her professional debut.
“Honestly, I was nervous at the start,” Soreño said. “But in the end, my older teammates said they’d handle the pressure. They just told us rookies to focus.”
Coach Norman Miguel, pleased with the rookie-senior balance, noted it was only Chery Tiggo’s first match.
“There’s still a level we want to reach,” he said. “But I’m happy because the things we’ve been working on are starting to show.”
Veteran Cess Robles, who topscored with 17 points.
Alvarez and Genesis combined for 25 points to lead Capital1, and Niego came off the bench to add 10. Setter Iris Tolenada found rhythm late, orchestrating quick sets that kept Chery Tiggo scrambling. Even in defeat, the Solar Spikers earned admiration for refusing to fold—something Belen, watching in street clothes, appreciated.
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“I believe in what they can do,” she said earlier that day. —WITH REPORTS FROM LANCE AGCAOILI, INQUIRER SPORTS INQ