Cvijovic a beauty, power, grit as Chery rolls  

MANILA, Philippines — For Chery Tiggo to go deep into the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, it must draw a strong offensive from Montenegran import Jelena Cvijovic.

Responding to the call, the 6-foot-1 reinforcement delivered her best scoring effort as Chery Tiggo eked out a come-from-behind 23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 15-6 win over Akari yesterday to jump back to the top at the PhilSports Arena.

Cvijovic fired conference-high 16 points including three key service aces in the deciding set that helped the Crossovers pull away for good and nail their third straight win.

It was Cvijovic’s highest output in a game after scoring six points in a 25-23, 25-21, 25-22 triumph over F2 Logistics last Oct. 11 and 12 in a 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20 win over Cignal Saturday.

“It was a tough match, we panicked at the start and made mistakes but we played better and better especially in the fifth set,” said Cvijovic, who also did well on defense with four blocks and 13 receptions.

While Cvijovic was still finding her true from, Mylene Paat had been carrying the team on her shoulders.

In this match, Paat was still at it, unloading 19 points, including 17 off attacks.

Cza Carandang and EJ Laure also provided lift with 18 and 14 hits, respectively.

But it was Cvijovic who delivered the most crucial points in the end for the 2020 Open Conference champions.

The Chargers, who drew most of their strength from Olympian Prisilla Rivera’s 30-point juggernaut, dropped to 1-2.

Chery Tiggo coach Clarence Esteban was all praises for Cvijovic.

“She has really exerted effort to win and she kept pushing and doing the right things,” said Esteban.

Despite being unbeaten, Paat said there’s still room for improvement for her squad.

“The chemistry is already there, we just need to work on our communication inside the court,” she said.