Aby Maraño during the Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ PVL on Tour game against Cignal HD Spikers. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Aby Maraño relished her homecoming in Passi, Iloilo, after helping Chery Tiggo stay unbeaten in three games in the PVL on Tour.
The Chery Tiggo captain helped restore order after her squad dropped the second set, regaining momentum to fend off the Cignal HD Spikers, 25-13, 26-28, 25-15, 25-15, in front of her mother’s side of the family and hometown supporters at City of Passi Arena in Iloilo.
READ: PVL on Tour: Ren Peñafiel, Chery Tiggo hand Cignal its first loss
“I have a lot of relatives here in Passi. The Palmares clan is here, so it felt like my whole family was watching earlier,” said Maraño in Filipino after scoring seven points.
“It’s very special because growing up, I had many childhood memories here with my grandmother. We would come home for New Year, Christmas, and spend the whole summer. Many people here knew I was a volleyball player since college. I’m very thankful to the PVL for bringing it here.”
The 32-year-old middle blocker played sparingly the last time she suited up in Passi, tallying just two points in two sets in Chery Tiggo’s straight-set loss to Choco Mucho last February in the 2024–25 All-Filipino Conference.
This time, Maraño was determined to deliver a stronger performance.
“Last time there was a tournament here, I didn’t get to play much. I only had limited time on court. But when I learned we were coming back, I told myself that if coach lets me play, I need to showcase who I am so I can show everyone in Passi who Aby Maraño is. I really enjoyed being able to do that today,” said the former national team captain.
“We were really happy because people stayed to watch even if it was already late, and you know how it is in the province–people wake up early. We’re grateful to everyone who came and made the effort. I’m sure there were people who weren’t from Passi City but came from Dumangas, Pototan, and other parts of Iloilo,” she added.
Maraño and the Crossovers rose to the top of Pool B with three wins in as many games. They look to clinch an outright quarterfinal berth against Creamline on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
“Our game really showed how we helped each other as teammates. I draw strength and confidence from my teammates, from the coaching staff, and from everyone in the team,” she said.
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“We really studied them (Cignal) well, and we stuck with our plan and system. We just focused on what we could do as one team. We didn’t look at them as the number one team or anything like that. The grit of our team was there. We kept it lowkey. Whatever the team can give, it’s for everyone.”
