AMERICAN Khat Bell downplayed her 39-point outburst in Chery Tiggo’s 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-10 win over erstwhile unbeaten PLDT Saturday night that forced a three-way tie for the Pool A lead in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

“Thirty-nine points is cool, but obviously the goal is to get the points right,” said Bell, who had five of the Crossover’s 12 blocks and had 11 receptions. “But we got the win and that’s a positive note.”

Chery Tiggo tied its victims and Creamline at 3-1, setting the stage for crucial matches in the final playdate of the first round of the Pool A preliminaries on Thursday, a make-up of the postponed July 25 tripleheader due to inclement weather.

The three teams are seeking to guarantee themselves of battling the bottom three sides in Pool B in the next stage for spots in the quarterfinals.

Farm Fresh is one game behind the pacesetters with an even 2-2 record. But the Foxies are now bracing for a big High Speed Hitters fightback on Thursday.

The Crossovers will face last-place Galeries Tower (0-4), while the Cool Smashers will take on struggling Nxled (1-3).

“We made the necessary adjustments,” said Chery Tiggo coach Kungfu Reyes, whose wards demolished Farm Fresh and Nxled in straight sets but fell short against Creamline.

Ara Galang, who ably filled the gaps left by Eya Laure who is currently with Alas Pilipinas with libero Jen Nierva, had two blocks and two service aces to finish with 23 points for the Crossovers.

The loss ended PLDT’s three-match winning streak, but the five-setter gained coach Rald Ricafort’s side a point in case tiebreakers for rankings will come into play.

The Cool Smashers currently have a league-best 10 points, followed by the High Speed Hitters’ nine and the Crossovers’ eight.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado