CHOCO Mucho is like most other teams, especially teams whose players have been together for many years. They disagree, performance dips, execution suffers and sometimes the negative side affects the team dynamics.
Thankfully though, when the going gets tough, the Flying Titans set aside differences and move on to forcefully address the most important thing why they are there in the first place -- which is to win games.
Veteran setter Deanna Wong, a Flying Titan for four years now, admitted how her longtime teammates still go through rough patches on and off the court.
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It just becomes a matter of working their way back to be on same page again and hopefully get their winning rhythm back.
“Hindi naman kami palaging (nagkakasundo). Kilala ko sila, matagal na kami magkakasama, but hindi natin ma-deny ‘yung fact that there are off days (in our relationship),” Wong said.
So when these days come, Wong said they follow the advice of their coach. “Kailangan lang din talaga namin ng timing. ‘Yun lang sabi ni coach Dante (Alinsunurin) lagi sa’min na we have to get a rhythm, ‘yung timing sa ginagawa sa court.”
Once the rhythm returns, Wong said team chemistry follows which she said is one of Choco Mucho’s greatest assets.
“Advantage siya na matagal na kami magkakilala, but I think, kailangan din naming malaman kung kailan at anong gagawin in whatever situation,” she added.
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Besides strengthening personal relationships and experiencing the normal ups and downs of team performance, Choco Mucho also has to deal with injuries — the latest of which being ace spiker Kat Tolentino’s recent health issues. She suffered a ruptured appendix and is fixing auditory problems.
Losing players off the court is one thing, but Wong pointed out how the Flying Titans have been struggling to ‘stay in the game’ and fight through challenging situations.
To establish their title-contending status amid a four-game unbeaten run, composure and reliability are important, she said.
Wong also noted that there was a time when several team members lost their focus at the same time during a game. “Naging-lax kami. Si Sisi Rondina nawala, ako nawala, si Isa (Molde) nawala," she said.
“‘Yun naman ‘yung (maganda) sa’min na kapag isa ‘yung nawala, kami yung tutulong sa kanya para makabalik.”
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