MANILA, July 29 ------ The Choco Mucho Flying Titans finally tallied a win in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2024 Reinforced Conference. This, after the Dante Alinsunurin-coached squad defeated the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, 14-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18, during their Pool B faceoff at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Leading the way for them were Royse Tubino's 21 points, Isa Molde's 17 markers, 12 digs, and six receptions, as well as Maddie Madayag's nine markers. Also stepping up for the now 1-2 Flying Titans was Deanna Wong who tossed 20 excellent sets on top of three points. “Sa wakas, nanalo din kami ngayong conference," said Alinsunurin after the game. “Talagang medyo na down kami sa unang dalawang game namin. Pero ngayon, na-maximize lang namin kung saan kami may advantage. Sana mag tuloy-tuloy lang yun sa next games namin.
After absorbing a first-set defeat, the Flying Titans went on to win three straight sets -- coincidentally when they opted to sit their import Zoi Faki in the majority of the rest of the game. However, Coach Dante said that it was just a matter of the squad adjusting to their roster which features a relatively new core. "Nakita ko lang na medyo pagod pa rin si Zoi dahil sa sistema namin. Nakita rin ng coaches na nababawasan yung gusto naming gawin sa loob ng court kasi iniintindi pa namin siya. Siguro, babalik naman siya kasi every training naman talagang pinu-push niya yung sarili niya," he continued, while expressing his optimism on how Faki will eventually fit in with their system. Sana maka pahinga siya, and pag dating sa mga crucial games, kailangan pa rin namin siya."
But in the meantime, it was their locals who stepped up as Choco Mucho even went on to create an 18-5 cushion in the fourth set after a Tubino off-the-block kill to show their dominance. The Thunderbelles attempted a late comeback and got as close as seven, 20-13, as Asaka Tamaru, Gayke Pascua, Michelle Gamit, and Ypril Tapia stepped up. Unfortunately, it was the closest that they could get as the Flying Titans regained their footing late in the game, while a Maika Ortiz running crosscourt kill completed their victory.
Tamaru led the Thunderbelles with 23 points, nine receptions, and nine sets, Pascual posted 12 markers, while Gamit and Tapia contributed nine and eight, respectively. Young star Cloanne Mondonedo also displayed her prowess and tossed 20 excellent sets, but they remain winless at 0-3. Choco Mucho will hope to extend their win streak when they go up against the Capital1 Solar Spikers on Thursday, August 1, at 3:00 pm., while ZUS Coffee will continue their search for their first win when they lock horns with the Akari Chargers on the same day at 5:00 p.m.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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