ANTIPOLO — Don’t count Akari out.
The Chargers raised the curtains on the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinals with a resounding 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14 win over Choco Mucho on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
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Akari saved four match points from 11-14 down in the fifth set and went on a 5-0 blitz to complete the comeback in the tiebreak.
From a service error by Choco Mucho's late substitute Regine Arocha to hand Akari its 12th point, errors came to play as Sisi Rondina also had a string of late attack faults that ultimately cost them the game.
Eli Soyud fired her first 25 points just three sets into Akari’s semis-opener before racking up 34 in a statement victory.
Her 34 markers were built on 27 attacks and seven blocks -- three shy of the league's single-game blocking record set by Riri Meneses for Cignal in the 2021 Open Conference against the Perlas Spikers.
Also, her total output was the sixth-highest scoring performance by a local player in a single game since the PVL's inception in 2017.
"Yung teammates ko kasi talagang nilaban nila like lahat nagsasalita, nag-iinput ng info sa kung anong dapat na gagawin. Para sa'kin, di pwedeng ma-waste lahat ng efforts ng bawat isa," Soyud said.
"Kung hindi kami lalaban, walang mangyayari sa'min. Kaya kami, binigay na namin lahat para wala nang magkaroon ng panghihinayang. Buti naman at natuto na kami," added Justine Jazareno with 25 digs and 13 receptions.
They still haven’t lost a single game since the preliminaries ended after a hat-trick of five-set wins in the qualifying round over Cignal and in their quarterfinals sweep of Galeries Tower.
When it comes to five-setters, Akari extended its unbeaten run in such extended contests to four in as many occasions this conference as Choco Mucho dropped its first five-set game after winning its last six.
With every game a must-win in single-round robin play, drawing first blood in the semis brought Akari a step closer to a once unlikely second-straight finals appearance.
And in doing so, the lowest-seeded semifinalists at No. 6 ended Choco Mucho’s league-best and franchise-best win streak at nine.
It also becomes the purple shirts’ first loss of 2025 since winning eight in a row.
Sisi Rondina's 29-point, 13-reception double-double also went for naught as the Flying Titans now have to go the long way round in a must-win position for their final two semis matches against Petro Gazz and Creamline.
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