AKARI charged back from a recent defeat to sister team Nxled, ramming past ousted Gerflor, 25-18, 25-15, 25-19,to keep its slim semis hopes alive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elims in Cagayan de Oro City.
The Chargers battered the Defenders with a cluster of hits behind Faith Nisperos and Joy Soyud while complementing their strong offense with impressive blocking, finishing with 11 against their rivals’ three.
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Nisperos and Soyud matched 11-point outputs in the one-hour, 23-minute victory fashioned out before an overflow crowd of more than 8,000 at the Aquilino Q. Pimentel International Convention Center.
Dindin Manabat and Fifi Sharma wound up with eight markers apiece while Ezra Madrigal, Erika Raagas and Janine Marciano added six, five and four points, respectively, as the Chargers netted 42 points in spikes, 16 more than the Defenders.
Akari snaps skid
Akari likewise scored six aces against Gerflor’s two but the Chargers gave up 21 unforced errors that nonetheless hardly stymied their bid.
The victory snapped Akari’s three-game skid as it evened its slate to 4-4, joining pre-tournament favorite Petro Gazz and F2 Logistics at sixth heading to the last two weeks of the single-round elims of the season-ending conference.
“That’s the way of life, you’re gonna win, you’re gonna lose. But since we’re in a competition, we have to be prepared for everything, even going down,” said Akari coach Jorge Souza de Brito. “We didn’t play better the last time, but the guys really played great, so it’s time to celebrate and prepare for the next step.”
Akari faces Galeries, also winless in seven games, next on Thursday, before the Chargers clash with formidable rivals in the Angels on Nov. 25 and Creamline on Nov. 30.
Danika Gendrauli topscored for Gerflor with nine points while Grace Berte and Jeanette Villareal added eight and six points, respectively, for the Defenders, who absorbed their eighth straight defeat.
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