ILOILO – Chery Tiggo outfought Cignal in a high-stakes battle of unbeaten teams, crafting a dominant 25-13, 26-28, 25-15, 25-15 victory to claim its third straight win and take sole possession of the Pool B lead in the PVL On Tour Saturday night at the City of Passi Arena.

In a clash between early title contenders returning from a mid-preseason break, the Crossovers showed no signs of rust. They came in sharp, executing with clinical precision and showcasing fluid coordination, anchored by stifling net defense and composed floor coverage.

Except for a second-set meltdown – where they squandered a seven-point cushion and yielded the frame in extended play – it was all Chery Tiggo in the one-hour, 50-minute encounter.

Rookie sensation Renee Peñafiel stole the spotlight with a breakout performance, finishing with 18 points built on three blocks and three aces to earn her first Best Player of the Game award.

Virtually speechless afterward, Peñafiel simply said: “Hindi ko alam… Thank you Lord. Sobrang happy na nasa Chery Tiggo ako at nanalo. Nakuha namin sa hirap ng training and everything.”

Peñafiel’s stellar showing more than made up for her underwhelming collegiate stint at UST, and her rise in the pro league signals the making of a future star.

The Crossovers also drew firepower from Ara Galang, who tallied 15 points, Cess Robles with 14, and middle blocker Imee Hernandez, who scored 11 points – most of which came during a pivotal third-set surge where Chery Tiggo turned a 3-6 deficit into a runaway 10-point win.

Robles, in particular, turned in her best all-around game of the tour, adding 14 excellent digs and five receptions to her offensive output.

Chery Tiggo then mirrored that romp in Set 4, pulling away with a five-point barrage to take an 11-6 lead, and never looked back. The win followed a four-set conquest of the Capital1 Solar Spikers and a grueling five-set escape against the Akari Chargers.

Cignal, which had swept its first three matches, absorbed its first defeat in the pre-season tournament organized by Sports Vision.

Erika Santos led the HD Spikers with 14 points but struggled to breach the Crossovers’ formidable net defense. No other Cignal player reached double digits, with Roselyn Doria contributing eight points, Ishie Lalongisip and Tin Tiamzon scoring seven each, and Heather Guino-o adding six.

Crucially, Cignal’s undoing came from within – committing 33 unforced errors, nearly doubling Chery Tiggo’s 19 giveaways. The Crossovers also won in attacks (53-45), blocks (7-3), and aces (8-4).

Setter Alina Bical likewise outshone Cignal counterpart Gel Cayuna, delivering 25 excellent sets to Cayuna’s 17, further underscoring the Crossovers’ cohesion and rhythm.

Cignal actually carried the momentum from its second-set escape into the third, quickly building a 6-3 lead and threatening to pull away. But the Crossovers, regrouping after an early timeout, returned to the court with renewed energy and flipped the script with a blistering counterattack that put them ahead, 14-7.

Hernandez ignited the rally with four consecutive quick attack points, while Peñafiel and Aby Maraño anchored the frontline defense, blocking back-to-back hits from Santos and establishing a firm grip on the set.

Staggered by that Chery Tiggo onslaught, the HD Spikers failed to regain their footing. The Crossovers coasted to the set win without even needing to fully unleash their offensive arsenal, as a series of Cignal miscues – including a service error by Lalongisip, a mishit from Judith Abil, and another failed attack by Lalongisip – gifted the set to Chery Tiggo on a silver platter.