Crossovers back in hunt

HD Spikers triumphant too in play-in kickoff

MANILA, Philippines — Chery Tiggo wore down Nxled in the first two sets then went for the kill in the third as it hammered out a 25-22, 26-24, 25-12 victory yesterday that shoved it closer to the quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

Denied of an outright quarters slot after a 25-22, 25-22, 25-23 loss to the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the qualifications Saturday, the Crossovers are now fighting for it in the play-in, opening their bid with a straight-sets win over Nxled in Pool B.

The 2021 bubble champions will go for a group sweep against Farm Fresh at the same venue Tuesday, hoping to snare one of the last two spots to the best-of-three quarterfinals.

Ara Galang and Cess Robles paced Chery Tiggo with 15 points apiece while Shaya Adorador contributed 14 hits in a win from a performance that’s in stark contrast to their last outing when they started out strong only to falter in the end against Choco Mucho.

“Last game (Choco Mucho) became a challenge for us because we did well at the start of that game but we didn’t finish well,” said Adorador. “But in today’s (yesterday) game, we all saw we found a way to work on it.

Cignal likewise kept its quarters hope alive after it repulsed a feisty Capital1, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, in Pool A action.

The HD Spikers could claim the last quarterfinal ticket and a showdown with the Petro Gazz Angels if they could beat the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles Tuesda