A pair of five-set thrillers raised the curtains on the PVL’s first-ever best-of-three quarterfinals in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference.
In the end of an action-packed opening salvo, two lower-seeded teams moved one win away from the single-round robin semifinals.
READ: Sisi gets last laugh over Savi in Game 1 quarterfinals thriller
No. 5 Choco Mucho leaned on its captain and most important ace in Sisi Rondina with a game-high 31 points to complete a 20-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 18-16 reverse sweep of fourth-ranked PLDT.
READ: Choco Mucho completes reverse sweep to take Game 1 over PLDT
In doing so, it was Rondina who drew first blood against her Fil-Canadian counterpart and MVP frontrunner Savi Davison whose High Speed Hitters side blew several chances to take the series opener from two sets to none up.
Galeries Tower also squandered an early advantage in its first-ever playoff game, as Akari fought back from a 1-2 hole to win Game One in five sets, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-16, 15-11.
READ: Lacsina, Soyud take charge as Akari moves a win away from semis
Ivy Lacsina, the Chargers’ leading scorer this conference, matched her career-high with 28 points on top of Grethcel Soltones’ 10 points, 14 digs, and 17 receptions.
Come Thursday, Choco Mucho and Akari look to punch the first two semis tickets, while PLDT and Galeries Tower aim to extend their respective series to a winner-take-all Game Three.
Here are some key takeaways from the opening day of the PVL playoffs:
1) SAVI STILL NEEDS HELP
“As much as I hate it, I think it’s the same story every time. We just need a little bit of help. Hopefully next game, more people show up and are able to put some points up,” she said.
Such straightforward yet nonetheless true words from Davison spoke volumes on the team’s longstanding dilemma since she joined late in 2023.
In Game One where she dropped 25, next on the scoring list was Erika Santos with 14 and Fiola Ceballos with 11.
Decent as these numbers may have been, it remains a grave area of concern for head coach Rald Ricafort. Davison made 23-of-81 attacks, followed by a distant Ceballos who only landed nine from 32 attempts.
If PLDT were to force a rubber match in this series, it cannot expect Davison to carry the scoring load all by her lonesome just like in the preliminaries where she scored 162 points - much more than the team’s second top scorer in Santos (134 points) across 11 matches.
2) CHOCO MUCHO IS A SERIOUS TITLE CONTENDER
Only two teams have yet to lose a PVL game in 2025: Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho.
The Flying Titans made it out alive in three five-set matches this year — none as big as their most recent five-set escape from PLDT to take Game One.
It goes without question that a gutsy, high-flying Rondina will always be the heart and soul of the Flying Titans, as their captain and top scorer.
But what has set them apart from most teams in the second half of the conference is how they never made Rondina feel alone in winning games.
Sure, she does the heavy lifting on offense even in crunch time, as evidenced by her 31-piece, but what Choco Mucho can best take pride in is how it continues to overcome adversity together — from multiple concurrent injury spells to being backed against the wall in games like their series opener against the High Speed Hitters.
Plus, Rondina has a steady and consistent scoring backup in Royse Tubino, Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who only saw action in Set 1 after experiencing discomfort in her right leg, and Isa Molde among others.
3) ELI SOYUD IS AKARI’S UNSUNG HERO
When it comes to Akari’s scoring front, Lacsina and Soltones are the first names that come to mind.
But over the last five months of this conference, shining under the radar for the Chargers as well is Eli Soyud. She even ranked second in the team in scoring back in prelims play with 121 points (11 per game).
Once the going got tough in their quarterfinals opener, down 1-2 to Galeries Tower, the 29-year-old veteran winger took flight and went right for the jugular of the playoff newcomers to complete the comeback win.
If Akari was to book a second straight semis berth on Thursday, there’ll be a lot riding on Soyud come Game Two to deny the Highrisers a rubber match.
4) GALERIES TOWER NEEDS A FINISHER
The same old story has unraveled for Galeries Tower in its first-ever playoffs appearance: strong starts, weak finishes.
It somehow found a way to take a 2-1 set lead and make the most of its quarterfinals debut against an established playoff team like Akari.
While the Highrisers have an abundance of young and promising talent onboard in the likes of Jewel Encarnacion, France Ronquillo, and Ysa Jimenez, they just can’t seem to hit the final nail on the coffin come the endgame.
They were able to crack that code by taking down Cignal during the qualifying round, and they need to do it twice more to add at least one more chapter to a Cinderella run of a conference they’re having so far.
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