Chery Tiggo re-hires veteran coach Aaron Velez as new chief mentor

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Chery Tiggo Pro Crossovers will be bringing back a familiar face to their coaching staff in the upcoming Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2023 season.

Coach Aaron Velez, the architect behind their 2021 PVL championship title when they took down Alyssa Valdez and the Creamline Cool Smashers, will be running it back with the Pro Crossovers after the team announced his designation as the head coach for the second time.

The Chery Tiggo management formally announced the development last January 23, 2023, through online graphic posts on their social media pages.

“The experienced coach is returning to take the wheel and lead the Chery Tiggo Crossovers back to the top this coming PVL All-Filipino Conference 2023 on February 4,” Chery Tiggo posted.

Velez marked his name as one of the most exciting coaches in the professional volleyball league when he led Jaja Santiago and Dindin Santiago-Manabat to a close win against Creamline’s Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Jia Morado.

Before qualifying in the grand finals, the Velez-led Pro Crossovers team also eked out a semifinal victory over the young and upcoming Choco Mucho Flying Titans team.

However, after two successful seasons as head coach, Chery Tiggo decided to put Velez in the front office, specifically in team management.

After Velez’s departure as the team’s head coach, the Pro Crossovers failed to punch a grand finals ticket in the whole full season of the 2022 PVL.

Chery Tiggo bounced back during the Reinforced Conference and made the Final Four but lost in the round-robin stage and got knocked out.

Velez will still have the services of superstar Mylene Paat but will no longer have Dindin by his side as the towering sister of Jaja took her talents to the Akari Power Chargers.