MANILA, Philippines, January 3 ------ Aby Maraño is joining her teammate Ara Galang in the new chapter of their Premier Volleyball League (PVL) careers with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers. Hours after welcoming Galang, the Crossovers announced their signing of the veteran middle blocker Maraño for the 2024 PVL season starting in February.
Maraño will still be with her F2 Logistics and La Salle teammate Galang, whom she shared the UAAP Season 75 Most Valuable Player in 2013. The 31-year-old middle blocker brings her leadership and on-court intensity to the young Crossovers, solidifying the frontline of Chery Tiggo with Pauline Gaston, Cza Carandang, and Imee Hernandez, who is still recovering from a knee injury.
Maraño is also reuniting with her friend and longtime Philippine women’s national volleyball teammate Mylene Paat as she explores a new system under coaches Aaron Velez and KungFu Reyes. “I’m excited to be a part of Chery Tiggo. It’s like driving [a car]. I think it feels good to accelerate with Chery. At the same time I will be with my former national teammates, especially Mylene Paat, Jasmine Nabor, Shaya (Adorador), Eya (Laure), (Jennifer) Nierva, and a lot more. So I’m excited to be working with these players,” she said in Filipino.
Interestingly, Maraño once played for the franchise when Foton tapped her as reinforcement for the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship in 2016. Maraño and Galang, who won two UAAP championships together for La Salle and a couple of Philippine Superliga titles for F2 Logistics, are going out of coach Ramil De Jesus’ guidance for the first time after the Cargo Movers were disbanded last December to focus on grassroots.
The Crossovers hope the experience and winning attitude of Galang and Maraño will help them return to the finals three years after ruling the maiden pro season in the 2021 bubble in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. Chery Tiggo only made it to the semifinals twice since then both in the season-ending conference of 2022 and 2023. Maraño was the fourth F2 Logistics player to move, joining Galang as well as Dawn Macandili-Catindig and Ivy Lacsina, who took her act to Cignal and Nxled, respectively.
Source: sports.inquirer.net
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