BEFORE stepping onto the floor for another ‘Rebisco Clasico,’ Sisi Rondina-Rosales took a moment to look herself in the mirror.
There was no elaborate speech. Just a simple challenge from the highest-Flying Titan to herself.
“Sinabi ko sa sarili ko, ‘Mag-perform ka ngayon. Magtatrabaho ka ngayon.’ At kahit anong mangyari, walang titigil, walang susuko,” she said.
For so long, those words typified Choco Mucho's larger struggle against Creamline.
The Flying Titans had spent years trying to crack the code of their sister team, absorbing loss after loss to the league's standard-bearer.
Maddie Madayag had been there from the beginning, watching Choco Mucho endure 19 defeats in 20 meetings before Thursday night.
This time, though, the image staring back at them was different.
The Flying Titans finally brought down the 11-time champions in five grueling sets for only their second win in 21 meetings against the Cool Smashers since 2019.
READ: Choco Mucho gets better of Creamline for first time since 2024
And it was not merely a matter of catching Creamline on an off night.
After losing the opening set in a late collapse, Choco Mucho responded with one of its most assertive performances against its longtime tormentors.
When the Cool Smashers threatened to summon one of their trademark escapes in the fifth, the Flying Titans turned to the same player who helped deliver their first breakthrough two years ago.
Rondina-Rosales once again took charge in crunch time, getting help from Eya Laure and Caitlin Viray who slammed the door shut with the game-winning hit for the kind of victory that had become painfully rare.
Rare 'Rebisco Clasico' result
For Madayag, beating the league's perennial benchmark carried weight beyond one entry in the standings.
“Nakaka-boost ng confidence kasi, sabi nga ng coaches namin sa huddle, Creamline ang team to beat sa league. Sila 'yung laging nasa top at laging lumalaban para sa championship," she said.
"Malaking bagay sa confidence namin bilang team na nagawa naming manalo at malampasan 'yung challenge na ibinigay sa amin.”
Deanna Wong, another Choco Mucho stalwart, could only savor how far the team had come.
AS she put it, “Ito 'yung pinakamasarap na panalo kasi mula noong unang taon ko sa Choco Mucho, hirap na hirap na kami sa kanila. Matagal na rin mula noong una naming panalo, kaya sobrang saya.”
The bigger picture, of course, remains unfinished.
Without a doubt, a return to the finals is still the dream yet-to-come-true for the Flying Titans.
Interestingly, the last time Choco Mucho beat Creamline, it went on to reach the finals for the first time.
But after a win that took more than two years to come, Wong and Co. know better than to look too far ahead and to treat any result as an sign of things to come just yet.
“‘Yun naman talaga ‘yung tinitingnan natin in the long run na makabalik kami sa finals. ‘Di muna kami magri-reach [too far], pero that's obviously that's what we want naman,” she said.
For one night, though, the Flying Titans did not have to look ahead.
They only had to look back at the mirror and see what they had finally become: a team that could stare down the Cool Smashers and refuse to blink.
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