CHOCO Mucho’s block party won’t be crashed.
The Flying Titans leaned on the impenetrable net defense of Kat Tolentino and rookie Lorraine Pecaña to cut Galeries Tower down to size in five sets, 27-29, 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 15-12, on Thursday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
It took seven blocks apiece from the Choco Mucho duo, 22 for the team in total, to overturn a one-set deficit and fight back for their opening win of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
After revealing a year-long auditory problem she endured, Tolentino made her presence felt big time with 27 points and 10 digs on top of Sisi Rondina’s 19 and Cherry Nunag’s 14.
Pecaña came alive in the final set with clutch net kills to set the league’s single-game blocking output by a rookie.
Flying fortresses
Net defense proved to be Choco Mucho’s ultimate weapon in breaking into the win column after an opening-day heartbreak to Petro Gazz.
22 blocks for a team in a single game is no easy feat, but it all came down to head coach Dante Alinsunurin’s defense-oriented system that got them over the line.
“It’s just sticking to coach Dante’s blocking system [that got us the win]. Ever since last year, that’s what I’ve been trying to work on and I just have to stick to the process, stick to the system and trust the team,” Tolentino said.
Chosen 11th overall in the inaugural league draft, it was nerves of steel that paved the way for the former Arellano standout’s best game yet as a pro.
“Tinibayan ko lang talaga dahil alam ko nang mag-fifth set kaya dapat mas matibay ako. Mas matibay dapat ‘yung ipapakita ko kaysa nu’ng fourth set na down na down ako sa isang mali lang,” the Choco Mucho rookie said.
“Nagtiwala ako sa sarili ko na kapag pinalo nila ‘yung bola, matik makukuha ko ‘yung bola, mab-block ko sila.”
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