ANTIPOLO — Coming off a tight five-set loss to PLDT, Choco Mucho vented its frustrations on Akari, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21, to force a three-way tie at the top spot of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Saturday night at the Ynares Center here.
After taking the first two sets, the Flying Titans ran away early in the third frame before staving off a late comeback by the Chargers to upgrade their standing to 5-1, tying defending champion Creamline and PLDT at the top spot.
“Sa naging performance namin, ano sobrang naka-survive kami do’n sa matchup talaga eh. Talagang kapag kami ‘yung kalaban, nag-iiba ‘yung taya nila,” said Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin,
“Siguro sobrang thankful ako na ‘yung matchup namin eh nakuha agad namin. Hindi kami masyadong naging problema ‘yung laro nila,” he added.
The Flying Titans started the third set red-hot, going on an 11-3 run that eventually turned into a 17-9 advantage. The Chargers, though, did not go down without a fight, going on an 8-3 rally led by Faith Nisperos to cut the lead to just three points, 20-17.
Sisi Rondina stopped the bleeding with a through-the-block hit before a rotation error from Akari spread the lead to five, 22-17.
The Chargers never recovered from there, trading hits with Choco Mucho before Royse Tubino put on the finishing touches to end the game.
“Pero ‘yun nga, ang importante pa rin is ‘yung naging decision-making ng mga player ko – kung paano talaga maging maayos ‘yung takbo ng flow ng laro namin. Kaya nakuha namin ‘yung game,” said Alinsunurin.
Rondina flaunted her all-around game anew for the Flying Titans with 13 points on 11 attacks and two aces. She also had 17 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions in one hour and 34 minutes of play.
Maddie Madayag, who is currently dealing with tendonitis, converted eight attacks to go along with three kill blocks to finish with 11 points.
Meanwhile, Royse Tubino – who filled in for Kat Tolentino – also had 11 points as well.
Mars Alba tossed 14 excellent sets.
Reigning Best Libero Thang Ponce collected 13 excellent digs and four excellent receptions in Choco Mucho’s bounce-back victory after their five-set loss to PLDT last Tuesday.
Choco Mucho looks to build from this win when they face off against Galeries on April 2, 6:00 PM at the Philsports Arena.
On the other hand, the Chargers fell to 2-4, tied with Farm Fresh and Galeries for the seventh to ninth spots.
Nisperos finished with a triple-double of 12 points, 11 excellent receptions, and 10 excellent digs.
Meanwhile, Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Grethcel Soltones added nine and seven points, respectively.
Akari aims to bounce back against PLDT also on April 2 at 4:00 PM.
