MANILA, Philippines -- Mylene Paat is off to a fast start in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference but the veteran opposite spiker is quick to credit her teammates and coaches for her production.

Paat torched Army -Black Mamba for 26 points on Saturday, as Chery Tiggo recovered from a second set blip to take a 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-12 triumph.

It was the second straight win of the conference for the Crossovers, after their 27-25, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of Cignal HD last week. Paat has scored a total of 41 points over two games, the highest total in the league.

• MATCH RECAP: Chery Tiggo downs Army for share of lead

"Ang lagi kong sinasabi, hindi ko naman makukuha 'yung point na 'yun kung hindi dahil sa tulong ng mga teammates ko," said Paat, who had 22 attacks and four kill blocks against the Lady Troopers.

Paat came alive in the third and fourth sets to deny Army's upset bid, and she later pointed out that the attention drawn by her teammates on defense freed up her scoring.

"Noong time na 'yun, binabantay na rin sila Pauline [Gaston], 'yung mga middles namin, lahat po ng mga teammates ko. Kasi distributed naman 'yung bola [sa amin]," she explained. "And ayun, lahat naman kami pumupuntos."

Paat earned praise for her big performance, but Chery Tiggo also drew double-digit production from EJ Laure and Cza Carandang, who each had 12 points. Gaston made her debut for the Crossovers and recorded eight points in three sets, while setter Alina Bicar had 13 excellent sets to go along with her four points in the game.

For Paat, the Crossovers displayed not just their skills but also the intangibles in their game against Army.

The Lady Troopers stunned them in the second set, pouncing on ill-timed errors and getting a clutch hit from Royse Tubino to extend the match. But Chery Tiggo was quick to regroup, particularly on offense. They unloaded 16 kills in Set 3 to take the fight out of the Lady Troopers, and went on to dominate in the fourth set.

"Siguro, nagiging advantage lang ng bawat isa sa amin is 'yung fighting spirit talaga inside the court, and kung paano mo papatayin lahat ng bolang ise-set sa'yo," Paat said after the game.

Now at 2-0, the Crossovers will face a big test on Thursday when they take on another unbeaten team F2 Logistics Cargo Movers.

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC