Chargers brace for ‘fire’ showdown vs Cool Smashers
How much less pressure there would have been if only Akari’s next knockout match were totally disconnected from its recent do-or-die victory.
But it isn’t.
Following a thrilling five-set win to survive its play-in game against Choco Mucho last week, Akari next takes on the Flying Titans’ more accomplished sister squad, Creamline, in another no-tomorrow duel in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.
It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire for the Chargers, whose coach, Tina Salak, hopes to pull off the same magic against the more formidable 10-time champion.
“We want them to remember the message and lessons from [the game against Choco Mucho] so we can carry that into the next [game against Creamline],” Salak said.
And there are so many lessons to learn and things to build on, from that key victory. Before the Holy Week break, Ivy Lacsina unleashed a career-high 30 points, as Eli Soyud nailed a calm game-winning ace to stave off Choco Mucho in a nail-biting fifth set, 25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 15-25, 21-19, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
When the Chargers march into battle against the Cool Smashers on Tuesday at Filoil Centre, Salak wants her wards to remember how they didn’t give up when their backs were against the wall in their do-or-die match against the Flying Titans.
“The next round is no joke. It’s already the top six. What we showed [against Choco Mucho] is something we can replicate against any team, including Creamline. But we can’t just settle with this win. Yes, we got the result, but we still have to work harder,” said Salak.
“Our next step is the semifinals and the main goal is to reach the top. We need to come back down, reset and refocus. The players have a rest period and we need to use that to recover and find inspiration again so we can come in with a fresh mindset against Creamline.”
Other matchup
The former national team setter-turned-coach will continue to bank on trust, as Lacsina, Soyud, Grethcel Soltones, Mars Alba, Fifi Sharma, Ced Domingo and Justine Jazareno hope to repeat their four-set win over Creamline in the preliminary round.
“There’s still a lot ahead of us. More situations like this will come. I can’t give up on them because they’re fighting for us and we’re fighting for them. It goes both ways,” said Salak. “There may be moments when we don’t fully understand each other, but we always choose to stick together.”
Creamline, on the other hand, missed the chance to secure a semifinal berth outright after a fifth-set collapse against Cignal in the qualifying match.
Nxled and Farm Fresh dispute the other semifinal berth to join Cignal and PLDT in another round-robin, which starts on Saturday next week at the Mall of Asia Arena.
