Choco Mucho remained unbeaten, handing Cignal its first defeat, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21, to force a tie at the top spot of the 2024 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Thursday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Sisi Rondina starred anew for the Flying Titans, unloading 23 points to go along with eight excellent receptions to help her side tie sister team Creamline at the top spot with identical 4-1 records.
“Personally, ayoko din na ma-put into waste yung mga paghihirap namin and ipinakita lang din namin kung paano kami magtrabaho sa sistema ni coach Dante [Alinsunurin], sa programa ng mga coaches namin,” said the reigning All-Filipino Conference MVP.
The HD Spikers had no answer to Choco Mucho all throughout the one-hour, 35-minute encounter, with Rondina and Kat Tolentino shouldering most of the scoring load due to the absence of team captain Maddie Madayag (rest).
Cignal tried to close in on the Flying Titans late in the third set, but Tolentino put on the finishing touches and scored three points in the Rebisco-backed squad’s 4-1 run that turned a slim 21-20 advantage into a 25-21 win.
“Sobrang ganda ng naging performance namin kasi sobrang taas ng efficiency namin sa receive namin kaya halos lahat ng receive namin na-convert namin sa puntos talaga,” said Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin as his squad registered 48 excellent digs and 22 excellent receptions.
Tolentino ended up with 14 points and 10 excellent digs while Isa Molde chimed in with seven points and eight excellent receptions for Choco Mucho.
Mars Alba tossed 19 excellent sets to go along with four points while Thang Ponce registered 22 excellent digs.
The Flying Titans will go up against PLDT next on Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
On the other hand, Cignal, who absorbed its first defeat and slipped to 3-1, was led by Ces Molina and Riri Meneses with nine and eight points, respectively, while Vanie Gandler was held to just four points.
The HD Spikers look to bounce back versus Strong Group Athletics earlier that day at 4:00 p.m.
