Akari kept its semis hopes alive after taking down Chery Tiggo in five sets, 16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11, in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Dindin Santiago-Manabat showed up in her first outing against her former team, unleashing 26 points on 24 attacks, a block, and an ace to keep the Chargers in the semis hunt with a 2-4 standing.
Chiara Permentilla added 18 points, all of which came from attacks, along with seven excellent digs while Erika Raagas and Ezra Madrigal chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“My team… they trust each other and of course, Chery gave us a lot of reasons to play hard and I’m happy for that. It’s a good day, it’s not lucky, because the guys are working really hard,” said Akari head coach Jorge Souza de Brito.
The Chargers and the Crossovers figured in a tight tussle in the fifth frame but the former got their much-needed separation after Jaycel Delos Reyes committed two consecutive errors, which was then followed by a Santiago-Manabat crosscourt attack that gave the Chargers a 10-6 advantage.
Both teams exchanged points from there but EJ Laure and Mylene Paat eventually scored on consecutive attempts to trim the deficit to two, 11-13.
Santiago-Manabat nailed a down-the-line attack to put Akari at match point before a Laure attack error ended the game.
“Of course, it’s a lot of skill, but there’s a lot of emotion in that fifth set. They made mistakes, of course there’s pressure, but that’s why I really think that made the difference,” added de Brito.
Jaja Maraguinot steered the Chargers with 19 excellent sets while Bang Pineda had a total of 16 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions in the win.
Akari found themselves in a 1-2 hole but was able to fight back in the fourth set and take a 23-20 advantage late which allowed Permentilla to close the frame and send it to a fifth set.
Paat paced Chery Tiggo with 19 points while Laure and Cza Carandang added 14 and 13 points, respectively, in their third consecutive loss that dropped them to 3-3.
Shaya Adorador had an all-around game of 12 points, 17 excellent receptions, and eight excellent digs in the loss.
Akari will go up against Petro Gazz on Thursday at 4:00 PM while Chery Tigoo will face the struggling Choco Mucho later that day at 6:30 PM.
