CHOCO Mucho had the last laugh in the first five-setter of the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference, outlasting Petro Gazz, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13, on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena.
In only her second game for the Flying Titans, Mars Alba fired 25 excellent sets as the reigning runners-up begin the new season with back-to-back wins.
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“Nakukulangan pa rin ako [sa performance ko] pero ‘yun nga, pinipilit ko na sundin ‘yung sistema nila Coach Dante (Alinsunurin). Siguro, connection pa with the ates kasi nga kulang pa talaga pero pagtatrabahuan namin.
“Medyo nagagamay [ko na po ‘yung spikers ko] pero nakukulangan pa rin po talaga ko sa sarili ko kasi kailangan ko rin maghabol talaga. Ako lang ‘yung bago sa loob eh so kailangan ko habulin ‘yung sistema and ‘yung galaw nila sa loob,” said Alba.
Reigning MVP Sisi Rondina flexed her two-way prowess when it mattered most as she fired 24 attack points and 22 excellent receptions in five grueling sets.
In the two sets Choco Mucho dropped, Rondina & Co. had the luxury of five set points in the opening frame and a 20-16 lead in the fourth. And in both instances, Petro Gazz mounted set-clinching runs led by Jonah Sabete — whose game-high 29-point night went for naught.
Come the fifth-set tiebreak, deja vu looked imminent as the Flying Titans’ 14-9 lead was erased with a four-point Angels counter-run.
With the game on the line, Marian Buitre misfired her final serve off a timeout to hand Choco Mucho the five-set victory after two hours and 50 minutes of play.
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