By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The Chery Tiggo Crossovers advanced to the PVL On Tour finals after defeating the Cignal HD Spikers, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, in the knockout semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday night, August 12.

Negrense rookie Erika Deloria made her presence felt in the third set with four crucial points for the Crossovers, which set up a one-game finals showdown with the PLDT High Speed Hitters on Sunday, August 17.

Victonara Galang and Princess Anne Robles contributed 15 points apiece.

Imee Hernandez and rookie Renee Penafiel chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Chery Tiggo.

“Of course, I’m very proud of my team, but this is not over. Job’s not finished, we still have a game on Sunday,” said Galang, who was named Player of the Game in the semis win.

“The coaches just told us to stay composed, so we stayed composed, trusted each other, and knew what we were doing inside the court,” the former De La Salle University Lady Spikers standout added.

This will be the Crossovers’ first trip to the championship round since winning their last PVL title against the Creamline Cool Smashers in the 2021 bubble tournament.

Erika Santos led Cignal with 26 points, coming from 22 attacks and four blocks, while Ma. Rochelle Lalongisip added 13 points for the HD Spikers./ASC, WDJ