AKARI became the second lower-seeded team to reach the quarterfinals by surviving Farm Fresh’s five-set scare, 25-11, 23-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9, in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference qualifying round on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
The seventh-seeded Chargers will take on the conference’s high-rising surprise package in Galeries Tower in a best-of-three series.
READ: Galeries Tower shocks Cignal to get outright PVL quarters spot
Squandering a two sets to one lead sent the sixth-ranked Foxies to Pool B of the play-in tournament.
Farm Fresh will play a series of survival matches in the single-round robin play-ins with Chery Tiggo and Nxled to secure one of the last two quarters spots.
The Pool B winner will slot into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed against defending champion Creamline.
Ivy Lacsina willed Akari to the playoffs for the second straight conference with 22 points on 21 attacks and one block.
With a loss seemingly imminent down 1-2, Lacsina made it a point to help the Chargers restore an erstwhile missing spark en route to a come-from-behind win.
"(Naibalik namin) ‘yung aggressiveness namin and siyempre nag-adjust ‘yung kalaban so dapat mag-adjust din kami. Medyo late lang po kami naka-adjust. Sa endgame naman, sabi namin kailangang kapitan talaga namin ito kasi pinagtrabahuhan na namin buong game," Lacsina said.
"'Yung sakripisyo po talaga kasi hindi po naging madali yung before this game po kasi grabe po talaga yung training namin so syempre yung effort ng management, coaches, and teammates ko yun po talaga yung naging inspirasyon ko."
The returning Grethcel Soltones came out swinging after a month-long absence with 11 points behind Eli Soyud's 14 markers.
Meanwhile, a herculean 23-point effort from the team's leading scorer in Trisha Tubu along with a huge triple-double from Alyssa Bertolano with 13 points, 11 digs and 11 receptions all went for naught.
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