With their quarterfinal hopes hanging by a thread, Yunieska Batista delivered a conference-high performance to lift Chery Tiggo EV past Capital1 in a thrilling five-set battle, 27-25, 23-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-13, securing a crucial win in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Tuesday night at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Batista dominated in the decider, dropping eight points in the fifth set to finish with 41 points—40 of them from attacks—along with eight excellent digs, as the Crossovers moved level with Choco Mucho in ninth place with identical 2-4 records.
“Well, for me, I guess, going point by point, slowly, with patience, step by step. And this was the result, and I’m so happy for that,” the Cuban-Kazakh winger said after the two-hour, 25-minute match.
With the Solar Spikers leading 8-6 in the fifth set, Bella Belen committed a crucial service error before getting denied by Mylene Paat and Cza Carandang, sparking a 6-0 run capped by four straight attacks from Batista that pushed Chery Tiggo EV ahead by four, 12-8.
Capital1, however, refused to go down quietly. Oleksandra Bytsenko led a spirited 5-2 counter to cut the deficit to just one, 13-14, before Batista sealed the win with a decisive off-the-block hit, clinching the hard-earned victory for the Crossovers.
While Batista spearheaded the offense, Jennifer Nierva anchored the defense with 24 excellent digs and 17 excellent receptions in a memorable showdown against her former college teammate, Belen.
“You know, this win, sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam. Kasi you can see naman the effort of everyone, from the coaching staff to the players. Like, everyone really contributed to this win,” Nierva said.
Ara Galang contributed 11 points, while Mylene Paat and Renee Penafiel added six points each, with Chery Tiggo EV committing only 15 errors compared to Capital1’s 30.
Chery Tiggo EV will aim to climb into the top eight when they face PLDT on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Ynares Center Montalban.
Meanwhile, the Solar Spikers, who came into the match riding the momentum of back-to-back wins, slipped into a tie with Akari, Petro Gazz, and Cignal, all holding 3-3 records and occupying fifth to eighth spots in the standings.
Bytsenko led Capital1 with 34 points and nine excellent receptions, while Belen turned in her best performance as a pro with 22 points and nine excellent digs in the close loss.
Rachel Austero also impressed with 11 points on seven attacks and four blocks, while skipper Roma Mae Doromal tallied 17 excellent digs and 19 excellent receptions.
The Solar Spikers will try to strengthen their quarterfinal chances when they take on struggling Petro Gazz on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
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