Jen Nierva had a highly-detailed preparation in her Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ four-set victory over the powerhouse PLDT High Speed Hitters.
Jen Nierva’s impact went beyond her excellent floor defense as the Chery Tiggo Crossovers took down the unbeaten PLDT High Speed Hitters 25-12, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Tuesday.
Nierva recorded 17 excellent digs and 16 excellent receptions against the High Speed Hitters. But moments after their win, the Alas Pilipinas stalwart shared her detailed preparation against the powerhouse PLDT led by Fil-Canadian star Savi Davison.
“I think kasi I started my day watching PLDT, and I have six pages kung paano sila lalaruin today, and I think that’s something new that I did today that really worked,” Nierva shared during the post-game press conference.
“And nakita ko na effective talaga kapag aaralin na ’yung intention mo is to really read the opponent. And mas madali gumalaw inside the court kapag alam mo, or kilala mo, or alam mo ‘yung galaw ng kalaban,” she explained.
PLDT entered the game riding a 3-0 record, built on sound wins over the Nxled Chameleons, Galeries Tower Highrisers, and Capital1 Solar Spikers. Chery Tiggo, meanwhile, came in with a 2-1 slate after falling to the powerhouse Cignal HD Spikers last November 21.
But on Wednesday, the Crossovers pulled off a dominant opening set, which set the foundations for the eventual upset. Cess Robles led Chery Tiggo’s offense with a team-high 17 points, followed by Ara Galang with 13 markers.
“I actually went through their rotations, kapag ‘yung tendencies ni [Savi] Davison, ano ‘yung spiking tendencies niya. Although ang dami kong na-miss pa din kasi she’s very aggressive eh, hindi mo din talaga mababasa,” Nierva explained.
Davison had a game-high 27 points against the Crossovers, while Erika Santos added 11 in PLDT’s losing effort. Fiolla Ceballos, meanwhile, was limited to six points after finishing with double-digits in their three-game winning streak.
“For example, kapag si Ceballos, it’s like nakikita ko kung ano ‘yung gagawin talaga niya inside the court. And dahil alam ko na siya, ang dali kong i-lead ‘yung mga teammates ko. Also sa passing, ‘yung mga serves ng kalaban namin, ng PLDT, alam ko na kung san ‘yung percentage na pupunta ‘yung serves nila. So nireready ko na agad kung sino ‘yung katabi ko or kanino pupunta ‘yung serve,” she continued.
Chery Tiggo hopes to continue their winning ways against the Petro Gazz Angels on December 10 at the Philsports Arena. And as they begin their preparations, Jen Nierva vowed to apply the same level of attention she had for PLDT against the Angels.
“‘Yung confidence [from beating PLDT] and siguro ‘yung learning ko from this game is to study talaga ‘yung kalaban. It’s really about preparation, kasi once you step inside the court, ‘yun na ‘yun eh. Kung ano ‘yung baon-baon mo, kung ano ‘yung pinagtrabaho mo the past week, ‘yun ‘yung lalabas,” the Alas Pilipinas stalwart said.
“So every single day is very important, kailangan ibigay mo ‘yung best mo talaga inside and outside training. And also staying disciplined and always focused kung ano ‘yung goal namin kasi it’s a long journey and at the same time, we really have to stay healthy.”
Banner image courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.