Chery Tiggo cruises past ZUS, nears PVL Invitational finals

Chery Tiggo survived a tight Set 3 en route to a 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 win against the struggling ZUS Coffee to inch closer to a finals seat in the 2025 PVL Invitational Conference on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena. 

The Crossovers needed to dig deep amid a late Thunderbelles rampage with Cess Robles starring in the endgame, finishing with a team-high 17 points anchored on 15 attacks and two blocks to help her team improve to 3-1 while ZUS remained winless at 0-3. 

The win saw Chery Tiggo move closer to a finals date with league-leading PLDT (4-0) and eliminate Creamline (1-3), Cignal (1-3), and ZUS from contention. Aside from the Crossovers, guest team Kobe Shinwa University remains the only team in the running for a finals ticket with a 2-1 card. 

"'Yung sa third set na 'yun medyo shaky siya pero I made sure sa mga players, sinabihan ko straightforward na hindi kayo pwedeng mag-relax dito. Walang reason para mag-relax," Chery Tiggo coach Norman Miguel said. 

"From the start ayun 'yung reminder ko talaga sa kanila knowing na hindi pa gano'n ka-solid 'yung maturity namin."

With that reminder from Miguel, Chery Tiggo was able to ward off the undermanned ZUS. 

Robles broke a 20-all deadlock by unleashing a pair of attacks from two different sides of the net before an attack error from her teammate in rookie Renee Peñafiel allowed ZUS to tie things up at 22-all. 

But the first-year outside spiker out of UST atoned for it by going for a strong cross-court attack that regained the lead for Chery Tiggo, 23-22. 

ZUS, however, turned to veteran Kate Santiago as the lefty opposite spiker unloaded a powerful hammer from the back row for another stalemate. 

But errors doomed ZUS in the endgame as Santiago’s hit went into the net and Wielyn Estoque’s attack sailed out, allowing Chery Tiggo to complete the sweep victory against a shorthanded ZUS that was without Cloanne Mondoñedo, Thea Gagate, and Jovelyn Gonzaga. 

Santiago led ZUS with 11 points together with eight receptions while Carol Santos and Estoque each chipped in nine markers. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News