Capital1, Chery Tiggo seek to defy odds vs fancied rivals

BY KRISTEL SATUMBAGA-VILLAR

Feb 28, 2025 09:15 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Capital1 and Chery Tiggo try to draw inspiration from the stunning performance of Galeries Tower when they gun for quarterfinal berths on Saturday, March 1, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City. 

Capital1 and Chery Tiggo try to draw inspiration from the stunning performance of Galeries Tower when they gun for quarterfinal berths on Saturday, March 1, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The 11th seeded Solar Spikers shoot for the stars in their 4 p.m. confrontation with the second-ranked Angels, even as the No. 8 Crossovers collide with the No. 5 Flying Titans at 6:30 p.m. 

The race for the quarters seats have been unpredictable following the stunning four-set victory of 10th seed Galeries Tower against No. 3 Cignal last Thursday, Feb. 27. The Highrisers, who placed near the bottom standings in all their appearances since their inception to the league in 2023, automatically booked a Final 8 seat along with the defending champion Creamline Cool Smashers, who routed the Nxled Chameleons to advance.

Capital1’s preliminary meeting against Petro Gazz was forgettable, though, as it got beaten black and blue, 25-19, 25-18, 25-9, last Feb. 11. But Solar Spikers coach Roger Gorayeb firmly believes in his stalwarts’ capabilities to write a different narrative this time.

Out to spearhead the Milka and Mandy Romero-owned crew are Heather Guino-o, Des Clemente, Trisha Genesis and rising rookie Leila Cruz, with setter Iris Tolenada also expected to fuel the squad.

But hurdling a talent-laden Petro Gazz would be like facing Goliath as the Angels boast of a formidable hard-hitting trio in Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips and Myla Pablo. 

Like Capital1, Chery Tiggo seeks to defy odds as it also plans to avenge its 25-18, 25-23, 26-24 prelims loss to Choco Mucho just last Feb. 22.

The Crossovers boast of an arsenal anchored on veteran Ara Galang, with Cess Robles and Shaya Adorador expected to provide reinforcements.

Choco Mucho, however, hopes it would not suffer the same fate as Cignal as a loss would relegate them to the round-robin losers’ bracket for the two quarters tickets.

Sisi Rondina remains a big threat from the 2024 All-Filipino bridesmaids, with Isa Molde, Dindin Manabat and Cherry Nunag also at the core of their attack.

Capital1, 3 others launch PVL All-Filipino title bids

BY KRISTEL SATUMBAGA-VILLAR

Nov 11, 2024 02:26 PM 

AT A GLANCE

• Four more teams including Capital1 launch their respective title bids on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

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Four more teams including Capital1 launch their respective title bids on Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Capital1 hopes to carry the intensity brought by former import Marina Tushova in its All-Filipino Conference campaign. (PVL Images)

The Solar Spikers clash with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the 6:30 p.m. nightcap hoping to make an impact after a seventh place finish in the last Reinforced Conference, while the Nxled Chameleons and the PLDT High Speed Hitters collide at 4 p.m.

Winners of the two matches will join opening-day victors Petro Gazz and Akari in this grueling, six-month conference that promises intense and heated action.

Capital1 seeks to showcase a new look with its mix of seasoned and promising players, and is expected to draw strength from the experience brought by former import Marina Tushova.

“We want to keep that drive and intensity brought by Marina. She set a good example and gave a higher bar of performance and we learned so much from her,” said Capital1 team manager Hollie Reyes.

Veterans Heather Guinoo, Jorelle Singh and Shola Alvarez are set to lead the Solar Spikers along with the young guns like Leila Cruz.

Chery Tiggo, for its part, is moving forward from the departures of star players Eya and EJ Laure, and Buding Duremdes, under a new coach in Normal Miguel and veterans Mylene Paat, Aby Maraño and Ara Galang.

In the other pairing, PLDT is leaning on Fil-Canadian Savi Davison to provide firepower along with seasoned players Majoy Baron, Mika Reyes and Jovie Prado, against another revamped team in Nxled, which has a new coach in Italian Ettore Guidetti.

“The team is a defensive one, so I don’t need to spend too much time on that. They love to dig. Normally, it’s difficult to score on the first attempt against my team, so right now we’re trying to raise the bar in other areas,” said Guidetti, who casts his eyes on May Luna, Lycha Ebon and Jaila Atienza.