Ara Galang and the Chery Tiggo Crossovers will look to replicate their success in past conferences, despite the departure of some of stars.
Despite key losses before the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference, Chery Tiggo managed to secure their first win in their opening match against Capital1 on Tuesday, November 12 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Crossovers grinded out a hard-fought victory in five sets, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18, 15-11, to give new head coach Norman Miguel a winning start to his PVL coaching debut.
During the offseason, Chery Tiggo saw EJ Laure and Buding Duremdes bid farewell to the team, while Eya Laure has been negotiating her way out as well.
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But for veteran star Ara Galang, the work and goal remain the same for the Crossovers, eager to prove that they can replicate their success even without their previous stars.
“Ganun kasi talaga eh, may nawawala, may dumadagdag din naman. Mahalaga lang na mag-work kami, mag-jell kami as a team,” Galang said during the post-game press conference.
“‘Yun lang talaga. Mag-work lang kami as a team, tulong-tulong lang kami, at mag-enjoy together sa loob,” she added.
The same sentiment was shared by former NCAA MVP Mary Rhose Dapol, who came in big during the fifth set for the team.
“Pupunan lang namin ‘yung mga nawala and magtutulong-tulong kami as a team,” Dapol added.
[ALSO READ: Norman Miguel proud to see Chery Tiggo’s character show in close victory vs Capital1 to open PVL campaign]
Galang led the way for Chery Tiggo with 23 points on 18 attacks, four blocks, and an ace, while Dapol contributed eight points in just three sets.
While the Crossovers await the return of some of their key pieces as well such as Jen Nierva, Mylene Paat, Jasmine Nabor, and Imee Hernandez, it will be a collective effort for the team throughout the extended All-Filipino Conference.
“Lagi lang din kasi kaming nire-remind na i-enjoy lang namin. Maganda kasi ‘yung tulong-tulong lang talaga kami. Hindi kami ‘yung umaasa sa isang tao lang or what,” said Galang. “Maganda ‘yung collective effort talaga at gusto talaga namin ‘yung ginagawa namin, tulungan talaga.”
“Motivation ko lang lagi is kapag pinasok ako, 100 percent na ibibigay ko ‘yung sarili ko sa team at tutulong talaga ako. Magtitiwala ako sa sarili ko, sa coaches, and sa teammates ko,” Dapol added.
Up next for Chery Tiggo will be the Cignal HD Spikers next Thursday, November 21 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.