CHOCO Mucho displayed incredible grit and hacked out a 25-27, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 17-15 victory over a tenacious PLDT side in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena.
Titan reinforcement Odina Aliyeva unloaded a season-best triple-double of 30 points, 26 receptions and 10 digs while Des Cheng delivered the block that clinched Choco Mucho's second win in three games in a fiercely fought fifth set.
[READ: Chery Tiggo outlasts Akari for hat-trick of PVL wins]
Kat Tolentino’s back-to-back kills in the fourth set helped the Flying Titans force a decider, setting up the come-from-behind win.
"It was really nice to see others contribute and the ball was distributed well so I think towards the end we knew Odi could perform and she still had energy to finish that fifth set," Tolentino, who finished with 16 points, said.
Aliyeva put Choco Mucho at match point first, 14-13, but PLDT import Elena Samoilenko and Jessey De Leon turned the match around to give the High Speed Hitter match point, 14-15, which Aliyeva saved.
A crucial error by Samoilenko and the Cheng block on Toni Basas ended the 2-hour and 44-minute thriller.
"We reiterated team work so I told my players small role, big role but what's important is they deliver," Choco Mucho head coach Oliver Almadro said.
Samoilenko matched her career-high 35 points and 10 digs while Fiola Ceballos and Mike Reyes had 14 points each for PLDT.
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