Chery Tiggo sees its botched stint in the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference as a glass half-full.
Instead of thinking of it as another missed opportunity to reach the finals, the young and rebuilding Crossovers would like to treat their best-of-three series sweep to the experienced powerhouse defending champion Creamline as a valuable lesson that would help them mature moving forward.
“We are inspired by them (Creamline). I think, that the good thing. We try our very best (to compete against the best) but maybe it’s not yet our time,” Chery Tiggo assistant coach Kungfu Reyes said following his team’s 24-26, 21-25, 21-25, defeat in Game 2 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“We were given a chance to play against the best professional club team in the Philippines at least we were able to maximize that for our young players. This will surely push our team forward.”
Despite missing the services of middle blocker Imee Hernandez due to a knee injury and veteran Mylene Paat not playing at her full potential with a right foot injury, Chery Tiggo made its way back into the semis for the first time since last year’s Reinforced Conference.
With young turks Eya Laure, Cess Robles and libero Jen Nierva stepping up to help returning setter Jasmine Nabor, Shaya Adorador and EJ Laure, the Crossovers looked formidable to give Cool Smashers a run for their money.
But Creamline’s battle-tested roster and chemistry built through years of playing under a winning system proved too much for Chery Tiggo to handle.
The Cool Smashers, who are still unbeaten in 13 games in the season-ending conference, are in their sixth straight all-Filipino finals appearance and 10th championship stint overall.
Creamline took the series opener also in straight sets, 25-18, 27-25, 25-22, but not after getting a scare from the hard-fighting Crossovers.
“I’m still happy because even though we didn’t make it to the finals, advancing into the semifinals is already a big achievement,” Eya Laure said.
Laure played in the second match despite feeling under the weather.
“Knowing that we are still a young team still adjusting under the system of coach Kungfu, we’re still able to achieve something. We’re happy about that. We’re trusting and working on the process,” Laure said.
The season is not yet over for the Crossovers, though.
Chery Tiggo will still see action in the battle for bronze against the loser between Cignal and Choco Mucho, who are playing in Game 3 of their semis pairing for the last finals seat at press time.
The best-of-three battle for third is set Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Our fight is not yet over. We may have missed the finals but we still have a battle for bronze to focus on. We don’t want to miss this chance of a podium finish,” Laure said.
Chery Tiggo’s last podium finish was in 2021 when it took the honor of becoming the country’s first women’s pro volleyball club champion after ruling the Open Conference at the expense of Creamline inside the Ilocos bubble.
“I’m excited and looking forward to our future as a team. You can see our progress. Hopefully, the things that we learned this season, we’ll bring that to the coming conferences,” Laure said.
