CHOCO Mucho now has inside track on the bronze medal with a riveting 25-18, 25-22, 27-29, 25-19 Game Two win over Akari in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference battle for third on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Flying Titans made it a point not to let a third straight playoff match against the Chargers reach a fifth-set tiebreak in which they lost on both occasions.
Sisi Rondina & Co. were quick to make amends from a squandered match point late in the third set — one where Choco Mucho led by as much as seven at 22-15 and pulled away to avoid another five-setter.
In the end, Rondina fired 26 points on 25 attacks and one block.
The win also ended Choco Mucho's unceremonious four-game playoff skid off the coattails of an erstwhile league-best 10-game unbeaten run.
Choco Mucho can clinch bronze if Petro Gazz ends title series
With the bronze medal series tied at one game apiece, a potential rubber match for bronze will only take place if the championship series between Creamline and Petro Gazz goes to a decider.
But in the event that the Angels complete the title sweep later tonight, the bronze medal winner will be decided through a countback of the first two battle for third matches.
In such a scenario, the Flying Titans have the upper hand by virtue of winning Game 2 in straight sets compared to the Chargers' five-set victory back in the series opener.
Choco Mucho will then be rooting for its sister team Creamline's title rival Petro Gazz to close out the finals to secure the six-year-old franchise's third podium finish in the last four conferences.
Conversely, Akari hopes to get one last crack at back-to-back top three finishes through a rubber match and become the lowest-seeded team at No. 7 since the BanKo Perlas Spikers to reach the PVL podium.
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