Alinsunurin to his Flying Titans: We shouldn’t look back

The waves rocking the Choco Mucho boat have started to calm down, and the Flying Titans are again looking like the title contenders that they used to be.

After a roller-coaster start to the PVL All-Filipino Conference, things are looking up for Choco Mucho, which is regaining its old form. And coach Dante Alinsunurin is, naturally, hoping that this string of good fortune continues as the Flying Titans move forward.

“I am really proud of what the team has done [to start the year],” Alinsunurin told the Inquirer in Filipino after the Titans’ 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-15 triumph over Akari on Saturday night at PhilSports Arena that extended their winning streak to four games.

“We looked at all of the things that have slowed us down one by one, and everyone in the team knows that we’re never like that,” Alinsunurin went on. “We all agreed that we should never doubt ourselves.”

Choco Mucho is coming off a listless Reinforced Conference, where it finished with a 2-6 record and failed to make it past the eliminations.

After on-and-off performances in the first half of the conference, the Titans are now at No. 5 with a 6-3 card, similar to Cignal and PLDT.

Waking up

“I made them (players) realize the gravity of our situation (when we were 2-3 and after the lackluster Reinforced Conference campaign),” the multi-titled coach said. “That woke them up and they maybe realized why they were playing at such a low level.

“What’s important is we are now at the top half of the standings, we just need to continue working through our lapses,” he said. “I guess everything just connected.”

The return of playmaker Deanna Wong from a nagging knee injury is one reason why things have looked up for the Flying Titans.

“Deanna knows how I coach, how to deliver what we want to do, so I am thankful to have her back,” Alinsunurin said. “Although she still isn’t 100 percent, she is patiently working [on that] and I am happy that she is not rushing.

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“As long as she is doing her job and she is ready anytime I call, [it’s going to be OK for the team].”

Choco Mucho will try to keep this momentum going in its last two games of the preliminary round to secure the best possible position in the playoffs.

The Flying Titans return to the court on Thursday against Nxled before taking a nine-day break and clashing with Chery Tiggo in Iloilo.

And Alinsunurin knows absolutely how his charges should think as they continue to chase a breakthrough title.

“We shouldn’t look back and just continue what we are doing,” he said.