BACARRA, ILOCOS NORTE — Choco Mucho made quick work of Sta. Lucia, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20, for its second-straight win in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference here at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center on Friday.
For the third and final set, Chocho Mucho capitalized on Sta. Lucia’s errors to build an 8-2 advantage in the first technical timeout.
Jovielyn Prado tried to make a difference, but the Flying Titans quickly responded and eventually extended the lead to seven at 19-12.
Prado once again took matters into her own hands, sparking a 5-1 blitz to slice the lead to just three points.
A string of errors tripped Sta. Lucia with a Jonah Sabete attack error capping off the win for the Flying Titans, 25-20.
“We didn’t expect [to win in straight sets]. We know naman na contender kasi yung Sta. Lucia. Alam naman natin kung ano klaseng level meron yung players nila at kung anong klaseng level meron yung team nila. So mataas yung level,” said Choco Mucho head coach Oliver Almadro.
Kat Tolentino was once again in the forefront of the attack, tallying 18 big points in the victory. Tolentino was the only player in the game to reach double digits in scoring.
Ponggay Gaston chipped in eight markers while Bea De Leon and Maddie Madayag added seven points apiece.
On the other hand, Deanna Wong steered the offense with 21 excellent sets along with five points while Denden Lazaro-Revilla collected 14 digs and 12 receptions.
Choco Mucho was blazing hot in the opener, taking a 25-17 win before staging a come-from-behind rally to snatch the second set, 25-22, for a 2-0 advantage.
“Second set we started slowly coming from a first set win so yung law of averages. But good thing nag step right away yung mga players nakapag-adjust right away doon sa binibigay sa aming sistema ng Sta. Lucia,” he added.
Mika Reyes and Sabete each had nine points while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas added seven markers in the loss.
Sta. Lucia, who was coming off a four-set loss to Cignal, suffered its third loss and dropped to a 1-3 standing.
Choco Mucho will go up against the debuting Perlas on Sunday at 4:00 PM while Sta. Lucia looks to stop its skid against Black Mamba-Army on Monday at 6:00 PM.
