MANILA – Yuni Batista put on a spectacular scoring display rarely seen in Premier Volleyball League (PVL) history, firing 41 points to singlehandedly carry the Chery Tiggo Crossovers past the Capital1 Solar Spikers in a pulsating five-set thriller, 27-25, 23-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-13, in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Tuesday at the Playtime Filoil Center in San Juan.
Batista, the Cuban reinforcement, became only the fifth player in league history to breach the 40-point mark, converting 41 percent of her attempts and exploding for 10 markers in the deciding set that sealed the Crossovers’ first win after a string of defeats.
“Every point mattered for us. We fought as a team and never gave up even when things got tough,” said Batista, whose heroics revived Chery Tiggo’s quarterfinal hopes.
The victory lifted the Crossovers to 2-4 for a share of ninth place with Choco Mucho, with two games left in the preliminaries — a crucial momentum swing for a team desperate to stay in contention.
After trading the first two sets, the Crossovers dominated the third with a blistering 13-1 start before the Solar Spikers forced a fifth set. But Batista’s power game proved too much in crunch time, halting Capital1’s two-game winning run and dropping them to 4-2.
Meanwhile, Farm Fresh Foxies secured an early quarterfinal berth with a gritty 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 28-26 win over the Petro Gazz Angels. Belgian import Hélène Rousseaux led the way with 31 points built on 28 attacks, two blocks, and an ace.
Trisha Tubu added 14 markers, while veteran Frances Xinia Molina had 10. Setter Alohi Robins-Hardy dished out 21 excellent sets alongside nine points, as libero Alyssa Bertolano stabilized the floor defense with 13 digs and 11 receptions.
Petro Gazz’s Lindsey Vander-Weide and Brooke Van Sickle finished with 16 points apiece, while MarJana Phillips and Ranya Musa chipped in 13 and 10, respectively. The Angels slid to a 3-3 record./PN
