Laure makes presence felt

Eya Laure stepped up to the plate when Chery Tiggo needed light to get it through the crucial stage of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference elimination round.

With their semifinal hopes at stake, Laure cleared the path for the Crossovers to move to the cusp of advancing to the next round.

The power-hitting open spiker served as the driving force in Chery Tiggo’s winning run that saw it plow over PLDT, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20, at the Philsports Arena last Tuesday before crushing Akari, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17, in an out-of-town game at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna last Saturday.

Her back-to-back showings were enough to earn a second straight PVL Press Corps Player of the Week nod for the period of 16 to 20 April in the flourishing professional league organized by Sports Vision.

The University of Santo Tomas product finished with 12 points she collected from nine attacks and three blocks, while also protecting the floor with seven excellent digs to stun the High Speed Hitters.

She followed it up with 14 points built on nine attacks, three blocks and two aces in the Crossovers’ rout of the Chargers to join Final Four-bound Petro Gazz, Creamline and Choco Mucho in the tight semis race with identical 8-2 win-loss records.

Chery Tiggo needs to win one more game as it currently holds inferior points compared to the three with PLDT (7-3) still lurking close by for the last semis seat.

With her collegiate mentor still by her side even in the pro league, Laure continues to embrace the trust and lessons she learned from coach Kungfu Reyes.

“I always remember the lessons that coach Kungfu had given me, like believing in myself. It’s really good that I have somebody like coach Kungfu who will remind me what I need to do,” Laure said.

Laure has been instrumental in Chery Tiggo’s blistering six-game winning streak sparked by a shocking sweep of defending champion Creamline at the same Laguna venue.

Since then, the Crossovers have not lifted their foot on the gas pedal and continued knocking down foes that stood in their way.

Chery Tiggo has no plans of slowing down with only one game left in their preliminary schedule against Galeries Tower on Thursday at Philsports Arena.