GETTING THERE
There is still a long way to go for Choco Mucho, which is hoping to regain its old deadly form in the PVL.
And while a 2-1 (win-loss) record in the ongoing All-Filipino Conference is a good start, it hasn’t distracted the team from the fact that there is still much work to do.
“Honestly, I am still looking for more from our performance,” coach Dante Alinsunurin said in Filipino after Choco Mucho outlasted rising Capital1, 25-20, 26-24, 28-26, 25-9, at Filoil EcoOil Centre.
“If you base our performances on our last Finals appearances, [you would say] it’s still on a really low [level],” Alinsunurin said. “We are still not able to do what we want to do on the court. Our service-receive still has a really low percentage, so we really need to work on that every day so we can all feel that we are returning to [our peak form].”
Choco Mucho had become a legitimate title contender in the past conferences, where the Flying Titans challenged powerhouse sister team Creamline for the title twice. In both of those Finals appearances, the Cool Smashers were victorious—but the Titans looked every inch the team of the future.
That future remains a distant one.
There was a very evident decline in the game of Choco Mucho in the last Reinforced Conference, when it campaigned without Sisi Rondina and Cherry Nunag, who were loaned to the national team.
Then, the Titans lost Aduke Ogunsanya to a second ACL tear in the All-Filipino Conference earlier this year while missing the services of Des Cheng. Veteran Kat Tolentino, meanwhile, was unable to contribute much due to an auditory condition.
Those manpower losses were big blows to Choco Mucho’s bid—absences that import Zoi Faki was not able to fill.
Suffered a bit
But things are looking better for the Titans despite an opening game loss to Petro Gazz. Cheng and Tolentino are slowly getting back to their old forms this conference and the team has now strung up two consecutive wins.
Choco Mucho faced a stiff challenge before emerging victorious against Galeries Tower last week. And the Titans suffered a bit before knocking down the challenge of the Solar Spikers late on Thursday.
But the difficulties they faced are necessary. This conference will be the acid test for the character that the Titans have been building all this time.
“That’s what we really need now: the character of the team,” Alinsunurin said. “When it comes to the PVL, in the pros, it’s a bit hard to establish that because of the long and continuous league schedule. And for me, [based on] what happened earlier and the last game, our sense of the game is slowly coming back.”
“We need that every time we are on the court. We need to continue working to not give up easily. What’s important is we do the right thing and have direction,” he added.
Against the Highrisers, Choco Mucho needed five sets before carving out a first win this conference. Against the Solar Spikers, the Titans launched major comebacks to escape with the victory.
23 points
Capital1 had dropped Choco Mucho into a 16-21 hole in the second set, but the Titans responded with a 10-3 exchange to take the set.
It was the same story in the third frame, with the Solar Spikers leading by seven points before the Titans tied the game to 26-all. Capital1 rookie Leila Cruz and Heather Guino-o hit back-to-back kills to steal the set.
But that was all the toughness that Capital1 could muster as Choco Mucho buried it in a 17-5 deficit.
“[F]or us, even if the opponent is leading, we are trailing, I always remind everyone that while the opponent’s score is not yet 25, we can still chase them,” Rondina said after pouring in 23 points built around 17 attacks, four blocks and two aces. Her performance also featured 12 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions.
“We were able to do that earlier, we had some runs to tie the game so I knew that we could [still win]. There are times that we stop or are not able to reach what we need to [but] … what happened is we worked for everything and that we wanted to win,” she added.
Royse Tubino contributed 12 points, all but one from attacks, and Dindin Manabat 11 points off the bench for the Flying Titans. Thang Ponce was solid on the defense with 30 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions as Mars Alba tossed 16 excellent sets.