
Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ Yuni Batista during a game against Capital1 Solar Spikers in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Chery Tiggo kept its quarterfinal hopes alive with a dramatic 27-25, 23-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-13 victory over Capital1 in a grueling PVL Reinforced Conference match Tuesday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Leading the charge was Yuni Batista, who scored a tournament-high 41 points, including the match-winning hit that sealed the victory.
In a tense fifth set, Chery Tiggo led 14-11 before Capital1 rallied to 13-14. After a Capital1 dig, Batista reset and finished the clinching point off a pass from Alina Bicar.
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Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ Yuni Batista during a game against Capital1 Solar Spikers in the PVL Reinforced Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“I didn’t think too much; I just took it point by point,” said Batista, who set a new tournament scoring mark, surpassing Sasha Bytsenko’s 39 points.
The win halted Chery Tiggo’s slump and improved its record to 2-4, tying Choco Mucho for ninth place. While still outside the top tier, the victory kept the Crossovers in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth as the two-round preliminaries near their conclusion.
“This win is so important to us. We still need to reach the quarterfinals,” Batista said.
Supporting Batista, Ara Galang added 11 points for Chery Tiggo, Shaya Adorador seven, and Mylene Paat, Renee Peñafiel, and Cza Carandang six apiece.
Capital1 meanwhile, draw 34 points from Oleksandra Bytsenko while rookie Bella Belen shone with a career-high 22 points in a losing effort .