Chery Tiggo crawled back from a two-set deficit as it survived a fiesty Petro Gazz side, 16-25, 11-25, 25-13, 25-22, 18-16, to keep its bronze-medal bid alive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, May 12.

Given up for the dead after the Angels cruised to a quick two-set lead, Crossovers coach Kungfu Reyes shuffled his lineup to challenge Petro Gazz’s frontline in the third frame that set the tone in the succeeding sets before keeping their composure in the pivotal fifth set.

Setter Jasmine Nabor surprised their rivals with back-to-back attacks to steer Chery Tiggo at match point, 16-15, before a down-the-line spike from Brooke Van Sickle kept Petro Gazz alive at 16-all.

Refusing to give up, Eya Laure stepped up into the occasion by draining the last two kills to tie their best-of-three series at 1.

“Sobrang hungry kaming magbigay ng podium finish sa Chery Tiggo kaya hanggang sa dulo, pinagtatrabahuhan talaga namin,” said Laure, who exploded for 26 points including 24 attacks.

The Crossovers, who lost in Game 1, 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 27-29, 15-12, also drew strength from Mylene Paat, who poured in 15 points, while Shaya Adorador started in the third set and wound up with 10 points.

While banking on their offense, Chery Tiggo also relied on its net defense particularly in the fourth set where it managed seven of the team’s 17 blocks.

Six of those total blocks from the Crossovers came from Seth Rodriguez, who only saw action starting in the third frame.

Chery Tiggo hoped that Choco Mucho would win Game 2 of its finals series against Creamline being played at press time in order to arrange a rubber match.

A Creamline sweep of the finals, however, would give Petro Gazz the bronze medal by virtue of a superior points ratio.