CHOCO Mucho passed one of its toughest tests yet.
The Flying Titans handled Nxled, 27-25, 28-26, 16-25, 25-19, in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Playtime Filoil Centre, scoring their biggest win of the tournament at the expense of an early title favorite.
Playing against her older sister EJ for the first time, Eya Laure scored six of Choco Mucho’s last nine points to cap a 16-4 match-clinching tear.
The defeat sent the unraveling Chameleons deeper into a slump, dropping their third straight game since opening the conference on a three-game win run.
With the victory, Choco Mucho took its second straight win and improved to 3-3, joining Nxled and Capital1 in a tightening race in the middle of the standings.
Sisi Rondina put on 24 points and 20 receptions to fend off a late Chameleons fightback.
Laure added 13 attack points, most of which came from her fourth-set resurgence to close the match out.
“Sobrang happy ako sa naging performance ng team namin kasi ito naman talaga ‘yung hinahanap namin sa kanila kung paano talaga dapat maglaro,” said Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin.
Choco Mucho appeared poised to steal the opener after unleashing a 7-2 surge to build a 24-20 cushion in a tightly-contested first set.
But Nxled answered with five straight points, two coming off MJ Phillips, to flip the switch and reach set point at 25-24.
The Flying Titans, however, refused to yield as Lorraine Pecaña block followed by consecutive kills from Kat Tolentino and Eya Laure ended the extended tug-of-war, closing out the frame after five Choco Mucho set points.
Set 2 unfolded in similar fashion as Nxled erased two early set points at 24-22 behind clutch hits from Jonah Sabete-Escamillan to stay alive. A mistimed dig from Eya Laure on a Djanel Cheng free ball then handed the Chameleons a 25-24 set point.
The Flying Titans weathered another tense exchange of blocks and errors, with Rondina delivering a timely hit before Tolentino stuffed EJ Laure-Carino at the net to secure a two-set lead.
The match flipped on its head in the third set. What began as a 6-1 Choco Mucho surge quickly unraveled as Nxled stormed back with a blistering 16-5 run, punctuated by 10 of the last 11 points to snatch the set and eventually dominate the fourth frame.
Kat Tolentino backed the winning charge with 15 points, well orchestrated by Deanna Wong’s 23 excellent sets and anchored by Thang Ponce’s 21 digs.
For Nxled, its concerning skid deepened as Brooke Van Sickle’s 20-point, 18-reception effort went to waste, along with a steady 13-point outing from Phillips.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
