THERE’S still no solving the PLDT puzzle, as it blitzed erstwhile unbeaten Choco Mucho, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19, in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Its pursuit of history remains on track, as the two-time champions kept hold of the third longest unbeaten run in league history, now extended to 15 in a row since the PVL on Tour in July.
But the irony in it all is how the Flying Titans were dealt their first loss of the conference when they finally had an import onboard. A perfect two-game start with an all-Filipino side was halted just when American winger Marlee Smith, who had 20 points in her losing debut, was cleared to play after a prolonged delay with her paperwork.
Choco Mucho nearly turned the tables in the third canto when it mounted an 11-4 run to climb out of a 7-18 hole.
But when the going got rough, PLDT had one person to call and it was no other than newly-crowned MVP Savi Davison to cap yet another winning salvo for a 2-0 start to import-laden play.
Davison put up 19 points on 15 attacks, three of the High Speed Hitters' game-high 10 blocks, and one ace.
"Alam namin na hard game 'to today kasi lagi namang ganun si Choco [Mucho] na nagbibigay ng ganung challenge. Sadyang umayos lang din sa part namin na gumana 'yung mga locals namin," said head coach Rald Ricafort.
Russian import Anastasiia Bavykina had a stable 13-point, five-reception outing, with Kianna Dy's nine markers also playing part in the early stages of a convincing performance.
"Very happy lang din talaga na sabay-sabay kaming maganda 'yung gising namin today. Good game naman din, Choco Mucho gave it their all and we were expecting na balikan lang din talaga," Dy added.
Not the Flying Titans' night
Smith, who became an opposite-turned-outside hitter amid a stacked pool of utility hitters like Kat Tolentino, Royse Tubino, and Dindin Manabat, took flight with 20 points built on 17 attacks, two blocks, and one ace.
Making matters worse was how the Flying Titans' dominant all-Filipino core lost all of its luster against white-hot PLDT.
Behind Smith's 20-piece were three Flying Titans who scored just four points each in a tough loss, including Isa Molde and middle blockers Aduke Ogunsanya and Cherry Nunag.
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