Aby Maraño and the Chery Tiggo Crossovers gained crucial positioning in the semis race after taking down the Akari Chargers in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Chery Tiggo still can not be stopped, picking up its sixth straight win at the expense of also-ran Akari, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17, in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Sta.Rosa Sports Complex Saturday.
The Crossovers rose to 8-2 with 23 points for provisional fourth place, holding an identical record with Final Four frontrunners Petro Gazz Angels (25 points), Choco Mucho Flying Titans (24 points), and Creamline Cool Smashers (24 points).
With Chery Tiggo’s win and Petro Gazz’s rout of Galeries Tower earlier in the day, Cignal, which is currently facing PLDT as of press time, has fallen out of semis contention.
After securing the opening salvo, Mylene Paat and Aby Maraño took turns steering the wheel as the Crossovers raced to a commanding 22-11 separation in the second set.
However, the trio of Faith Nisperos, Fifi Sharma, and Mich Cobb staged a fightback that whittled the double-digit deficit down to four, 19-23. Cess Robles, though, restored order for Chery Tiggo with consecutive hits to clinch a 2-0 set buffer.
It was all the Crossovers in the decisive third frame, where Paat and Eya Laure took charge to give their side a comfortable lead en route to the resounding sweep.
Maraño emerged as the Player of the Game with seven points built on five attacks, one block, and an ace.
But it was the younger of the Laure siblings who top scored for Chery Tiggo with 14 points on nine spikes, three blocks, and two aces, while Ara Galang pitched in nine markers, two of which coming from rejections.
Cza Carandang, EJ Laure, and Paat contributed seven points each for the Crossovers, who drew 11 receptions and nine digs from Jennifer Nierva.
The Chargers, meanwhile, could not extend their two-game win streak, falling to 4-6 at solo seventh spot.
Ezra Madrigal paced Akari with 10 points, while Erika Raagas and Sharma scored eight and six markers, respectively, in the losing cause.
Chery Tiggo seeks to continue its pursuit of a semis berth when it takes on its last elimination round assignment, Galeries Tower, on April 25, Thursday.
Akari, on the other hand, tries to finish its campaign on a high when it faces win-hungry Strong Group Athletics on April 27, Saturday.
Both matches will be held at the PhilSports Arena.