Marlo Couto/INQUIRER.net
Jen Nierva knew that Chery Tiggo would be battling a formidable PLDT squad featuring the prolific Savi Davison, and would have to play a lot of defense to win the crossover.
A defense she was very keen to lead.
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Armed with a six-page scouting report on the PLDT offense that she wrote herself, Nirva was all out on the field on Tuesday and led the charge in blunting the high speed hitters as Chery Tiggo thrashed Davison and previously unheard high speed hitters. Defeated 25-12. Defeated 25-23, 20-25, 25-22 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I started my day by watching PLDT [tapes] And I have six pages of how I’m going to play them today,” Nirva said. “This is something new that I did today that really works and I noticed that it’s really effective when you study your opponent, when you really read them.
glittering numbers
“It was easier to get inside the court when you knew how your opponent was going to move,” Nierva said after defending the crossover floor with 17 excellent digs and 16 excellent receptions.
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The Crossovers are also full of effective hitters who consistently focus on offense, and so the defensive specialist knew she had to shine the only way she knows how.
“The last few games, I was just watching and didn’t write anything down, so I think I absorbed the plan better when I wrote it down,” she told The Inquirer in a separate interview. “I remember better what I wrote on the court because I was also picturing where his attacks and serves were going.”
This wasn’t exactly new for the crack libero as he recalled doing it before, saying, “I stopped doing it and thought about doing it again.”
And it couldn’t have come at a better time as the Crossovers reached 3-1 to level their victims. Seeing the huge encouragement that the team got from this, Neerva has planned to continue the same preparation in future also.
Studying your opponents is something Nirva has learned during her stint with Alas Pilipinas.
watching movies
“Now, what I want to do is look at my game and what moves I’m still lacking and read the opponent more and apply it on the court,” the National University product said. “I saw our videos from Alas where we were reading and discussing; It’s one thing when coaches tell us strategies and it’s different when we teammates give information to each other.
“Actually, during our warmup, I immediately inserted myself into the game and shared instructions like ‘these are their tendencies,’ so I think that really helped,” Nirva said.
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Cece Robles led Cherry Tiggo with 17 points, Ara Galang added 13 points and Shaya Adorador and Pauline Gaston added 11 and 10 points, respectively. inquiry
