ILOCOS NORTE – Choco Mucho chalked up its second straight victory behind its vaunted blocking and an offense that went into full throttle from the onset, sputtered in the next before cranking up again in the third, dispatching a struggling Sta. Lucia side, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20, and seizing solo second in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center in Bacarra here on Wednesday.
With the towering troika of Bea de Leon, Kat Tolentino and Maddie Madayag on the firing and defensive ends and Ponggay Gaston stepping up her attack in the third, the Flying Ttians flourished all game while pouncing on the Lady Realtors’ mishits and miscues in the last two sets.
The victory was far more impressive than their four-set triumph over the PLDT Power Hitters last Wednesday with the young squad anchored on former Ateneo stalwarts looking forward to delivering more imposing results in their determined bid to contend for the crown in the country’s first-ever pro volleyball league.
“Every game is a must-win. Every game we should be learning towards the next games,” said Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro. “And this win is big since it’s a single round (elims) and Sta. Lucia is one of the contenders.”
The Lady Realtors reeled to their third setback against a lone win as the team groped for form all game with top hitters MJ Philips and Jonah Sabete failing to convert on their attacks and ending up with seven and nine points, respectively.
But it was more of Choco Mucho’s intimidating presence on the net that must’ve forced the duo to alter their attacks on each flight with Philips missing on her target twice with Choco Mucho just ahead, 21-20, in the second frame.
Sta. Lucia also struggled with its first pass and receives and failed to find other offensive options, resulting in 26 unforced errors against the Flying Titans’ seven.
Sabete typified the Lady Realtors’ wobbly stint with a serve that sailed long after she saved a match point on a hit, allowing the Flying Titans to record the one-hour, 26-minute triumph.
Tolentino emerged as the lone player to score in twin figures in only the third straight-set win posted in 12 games, finishing with 18 points while Gaston turned in an eight-hit game, the bulk of which she scored in the third.
Madayag and de Leon added seven hits apiece with the latter adding two kill blocks, the last against Mika Reyes that put Choco Mucho at match-point, 24-19, after a Jovie Prado backrow attack.
“We didn’t expect (to sweep them),” said Almadro. “Good thing, everybody stepped up, particularly in the second set where we started slow.”
Reyes also came away with nine hits while Aiza Pontillas added eight and Dell Palomata and Prado finished with seven points apiece.
Both teams produced 13 attacks each in the opening frame but the Flying Titans flourished with their net defense, scoring on blocks and quick hits while keeping their errors to a minimum (one) against their rivals’ five.
But they came in the next set virtually flat, enabling the Lady Realtors to win six of the first seven points although they recovered just as quickly, countering with their own version of a five-hit cluster to close within one.
It was tight from there before Choco Mucho cashed in on Philips’ two mishits to break away from a 21-20 game on a Deanne Wong ace and Tolentino hit.
Meanwhile, the PVL gears up for its first triple-bill in a compact five-week schedule tomorrow (Sunday), spiced up by the Perlas Spikers’ debut in the country’s first pro volley tournament and capped by the Creamline-Chery Tiggo faceoff.
Image courtesy of Jan Angelo Faustin Rosales
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