Choco Mucho head coach Oliver Almadro was nothing but proud of the fight that his remaining players showed in the team’s straight sets loss to Creamline, Saturday night.
“We lost today but I like the character of my players. It is the first time na nababa namin ng 20 lang yung errors namin, imagine kung kailan kaunti pa kami,” said Almadro.
Only nine players suited up for the Flying Titans against the Cool Smashers after Kat Tolentino, Des Cheng, Cherry Nunag, and Thang Ponce remained out due to health and safety protocols while Aduke Ogunsaya was ruled out of the tournament due to an ACL tear on her right knee.
This left Deanna Wong, Bea De Leon, Denden Lazaro-Revilla, Isa Molde, Ponggay Gaston, Caitlyn Viray, Regine Arocha, Shannen Palec, and Jem Ferrer to fend for themselves against a motivated Creamline squad that was coming off its first loss in more than a year.
Choco Mucho eventually lost the match in just three sets, 22-25, 14-25, 22-25, but still, put up a courageous fight that saw them go toe-to-toe against Creamline in the first and third sets before Tots Carlos took over both times.
“Pero hindi ibig sabihin na pwede na ‘yon, syempre hindi pa rin kami kuntento kasi we have to start winning but the circumstances, tinatamaan yung team ko ng mga circumstances and pero hindi na namin hold ‘yon,” said Almadro.
“We just have to focus on the things that we can control which is preparing for the next games rather than dwelling on the things that we cannot control na like kung sino yung mga wala dito,” he added.
So, instead of dwelling on their current situation, Almadro decided to stick to the positives.
“It’s a good sign for us, yun lang naman Creamline is the defending [Open Conference] champion and they are the top team ngayon so seeing my players fight ‘till the end and showing their true character I guess it’s one step moving forward,” said the Ateneo head coach.
“Yun ang maganda, yung tough character na meron sila. The strong character that they are showing, it’s a positive for the team. I hope na naka-inspire pa rin kami ng mga taong naka-suporta at nanonood sa PVL and sa Choco Mucho,” he added.
Almadro, though, is not throwing the towel just yet as the Flying Titans still have a chance to make it into the semifinals.
And with their reinforcements set to suit up in the team’s next match against PLDT, the UAAP champion coach is hopeful that Choco Mucho can make a last ditch attempt to save their tournament life.
“I know we still have a chance to be in the final four but we have to do it step by step. As I’ve said to my team, we set small goals first so we can reach the bigger goal. So, strong character we showed today but we’re just… short kami ng tao but yes nag-start yun ng something sa team namin,” said Almadro.
“Sabi ko nga, kailangan lang namin ng faith and courage. Kailangan lang namin ng faith sa sarili, faith sa teammates, and faith sa system, faith sa binibigay na talent sa amin, at higit sa lahat maging courageous kami. We have to be courageous everyday no matter kung anong tumama sa amin, kailangan maging matapang kami and itong next two games namin, yes it’s really a do or die game but sabi ko nga, day by day we will be focusing on the little goals going to the bigger goal which is winning on Thursday and Saturday.”
