Chery Tiggo downs Cignal, crosses to finals

MANILA, Philippines — The road back to the Premier Volleyball League finals has been long and hard for Chery Tiggo.

But when they finally arrived, the Crossovers made sure to relish every single moment of it.

It came via a 25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23 victory over a feisty Cignal Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that propelled Chery Tiggo to the PVL on Tour finale, the franchise’s first after a long while.

It took the Crossovers four long years to make it back to the finals.

The last time they did, they beat the mighty Creamline Cool Smashers in the Bacarra Bubble in Ilocos Norte that felt more special by the fact that it was their first crown in the PVL that also came on their league debut.

“Finally,” said Chery Tiggo setter Jasmine Nabor, who was one of the few remnants of that historic title-winning squad.

“I told the other people who were part of that champion team that we really waited long for this moment and worked really hard for this,” added Nabor, who had 21 excellent sets apart from sneaking five hits.

Under Nabor’s weaving baton, Chery Tiggo’s offense hummed with Cess Robles and Ara Galang firing 15 points apiece and Imee Hernandez and Renee Peñafiel chipping in 12 and 10 hits, respectively.

While the Crossovers had a balanced attack, the HD Spikers had mostly relied on Erika Santos, who exploded with a match-high 26 points but ended up realizing she could not do it alone.

The one-day finale is set Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.