CHERY TIGO seeks to stretch not just its unblemished run to four but also firm up its semifinal drive as it faces PLDT Tuesday as Army and Akari try to snap their slide in the Premier Volleyball League All Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Chery Tigo-PLDT match is set at 6:30 p.m. after the Lady Troopers and Chargers mix it at 4 p.m.
The Crossovers found themselves the lone unbeaten squad in the nine-team field after the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers stunned the Creamline Cool Smashers in an epic five-setter late Saturday and the inaugural pro league champions in 2021 are all pumped up to go for another victory halfway through the single round robin eliminations of the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
But Chery Tiggo is in for a tough outing as PLDT recovered from a five-set setback to F2 Logistics with a straight-set romp over Army last Thursday and the High Speed Hitters are eager to stop the Crossovers, bolster their own campaign and send the semifinals battle into a wide-open race.
After a second-to-last finish in the conference last year, the Crossovers vowed to do better and they’ve been dishing out their best to net them a pair of 3-0 romps over the HD Spikers and the Cargo Movers and a 3-1 triumph over the Lady Troopers.
Despite losing leader Dindin Manabat to Akari, the Crossovers have responded to comeback coach Aaron Velez and flourished behind the seasoned Mylene Paat, EJ Laure, Cza Carandang, Shaya Adorador and the rising Roselle Baliton.
But the High Speed Hitters have slowly adjusted to new coach Rald Ricafort’s style and play-patterns with Mary Anne Mendrez shining against the Lady Troopers with 11 points and the likes of Jovie Prado, Dell Palomata, new recruit Michelle Morente, skipper Mika Reyes and Mae Santos combining for 35 points.
Games are telecast live on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play, and SMART Live Stream and on pvl.ph.