KILLER CROSSOVERS: Galang, Bell spike Chery Tiggo’s beatdown of Nxled

Ara Galang provided the supporting firepower to prolific scorer American Khat Bell in Chery Tiggo’s 25-16, 25-20, 25-23, sweep of Nxled for back-to-back wins in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Sporting a fiery red-dyed hair, Galang lit up the stats sheet to complement Bell’s game-high 21 points in leading the unbeaten Crossovers atop the Pool A standings.

Galang scored 11 points anchored on seven spikes and four kill blocks while adding 11 digs for an all-around performance in the game that lasted only one hour and 33 minutes.

“Happy that I was able to contribute to the team’s win. That’s my goal so I’m super happy,” said Galang, who bared that she dyed her hair red as a homage to Hanamichi Sakuragi of popular 90s anime Slamdunk.

The Crossovers controlled the first two sets before encountering tough resistance from the Chameleons in the third.

Chery Tiggo and Nxled engaged in a see-saw match until the closing stretch. The Chameleons took a 23-22 lead before the Crossovers countered with three straight points sealed by an off the block kill by Bell to complete the sweep.

Bell, who hammered 19 kills and landed all of Chery Tiggo’s two aces, praised Galang’s game.

“It’s definitely less stressful having her (Ara Galang) on my team. I watched her the last two seasons that I’ve been here. She’s absolutely amazing,” said Bell, who had memorable encounters against Galang and her former team F2 Logistics while playing for Petron in the defunct Philippine Superliga (PSL).

“I admire her work ethic as well, and just seeing her grow her game as an attacker from the opposite has been great. She’s attacking a lot higher and a lot more than the last few years, and the strength is insane. I can tell she’s been in the gym working hard and I’m just so glad to have her as a teammate and not as an opponent anymore,” added Bell, who defeated Galang in the 2018 and 2018 PSL Grand Prix.

Nxled suffered its first loss after opening its campaign with a five-set victory over Galeries Tower.

American Meegan Hart was limited to nine points off just seven spikes and two kill blocks to pace the Chameleons, who threw away 22 points off errors.

Lycha Ebon had eight points while Jho Maraguinot finished with seven.