Bea De Leon knows that there is much pressure on Choco Mucho to win the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference.
After all, the Flying Titans made a lot of noise during the off-season.
Coming off a fourth-place finish in Bacarra a year ago, Choco Mucho retooled by plucking stars left and right.
Choco Mucho added the likes of Des Cheng, Aduke Ogunsanya, Cherry Nunag, Isa Molde, and Thang Ponce in an effort to finally win that elusive crown.
And the 25-year-old middle blocker out of Marikina knows that they are tagged as one of the favorites to win it all.
“I wouldn’t know if we’re the top but we are really, really grateful for the support from the fans, family, and coaches. Malaking tulong yun for our confidence,” she said.
During their second debut last Friday, Choco Mucho quickly dispatched Army-Black Mamba, 25-13, 25-11, 25-23 for a smashing debut.
Almost everyone Oliver Almadro plugged in delivered in the match that lasted just a little over 76 minutes.
“We are very happy that we got our first win, especially naka-three sets kami,” said De Leon, who had four points in the game. “It’s a big boost to our confidence especially we are a new team. We have to admit, kapaan pa since we’ve only been together for a month.
“But we are very happy and there’s still a lot of things to improve on.”
Up next for Choco Mucho in Pool A though is the team that eliminated them from contention Chery Tiggo.
In Bacarra, the Flying Titans and the Crossovers series extended to a decider. But it was Chery Tiggo who was able to find their next gear, taking a 25-16, 26-24, 25-23 win to advance to the finals.
“I don’t think we are really trying to look back at what happened a year ago,” the UAAP Season 81 Finals MVP shared.
“I believe we are a lot stronger, a lot better now and we are heading into that game confident at kaya na namin bawiin yun. But again, we just want to do things right.”
Though lofty are the expectations for De Leon and the Flying Titans, the team’s skipper only has one goal this conference.
“If we want to reach the top, we have to beat all of them anyway. We are just doing things right and executing well. Just taking it one game at a time.”
