Choco Mucho borrows Ginebra’s NSD spirit, eludes upset
With its character and winning streak tested, Choco Mucho reached for familiar fighting words normally uttered on a different court.
“[I brought up] the ‘never-say-die’ [attitude] because the fight is not yet over,” Royse Tubino said in Filipino as Choco Mucho prevented an upset with a 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-10 escape act against underdog Nxled in the PVL All-Filipino Conference on Thursday at PhilSports Arena.
Needing one more set to ice the victory, the Chameleons built a 20-15 lead in the fourth set, pushing the Flying Titans to a corner. That’s when Tubino urged her teammates to make like the Gin Kings.
“We still need to work to get the set because it’s not yet over. We still have a chance to win and I always say that as long as it’s not over, we can still rise to get it,” she reminded her teammates.
Choco Mucho eventually forced a fifth set and once there, took a 9-3 lead that took the fight out of the flustered Nxled. From a rocky first half of the tournament, the Titans are now riding a five-game winning streak and haven’t lost this year for a 7-3 (win-loss) card.
“A win is a win but Nxled had a lot of confidence while battling us. [The Chameleons] played really well and no matter what adjustments we made, they kept up with us,” coach Dante Alinsunurin said.
Sisi shines anew
“Like what Royse said, never-say-die became our attitude now because as long as the final points are not yet finished, we will keep on [fighting],” said the Ginebra fan, who also happens to coach one of the most-loved teams in the league.
Choco Mucho remains in the top half of the standings and with only a game against Chery Tiggo left in their calendar, continues to be in a prime position for a good ranking at the end of the preliminary round heading into the knockout stage.
The Titans again got the goods from Sisi Rondina who finished with 23 points, 21 from attacks, highlighted by 19 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
Isa Molde contributed 12 attack points. Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Maika Ortiz pitched in nine points each, while Tubino and Cherry Nunag added seven points apiece. Deanna Wong activated her spikers with 12 excellent sets as Thang Ponce took care of the defense with 15 excellent digs and 19 excellent receptions.
“With the way that this conference has been going where we have been playing five sets and find ourselves down by two sets, we are still able to [win] in the end,” Alinsunurin said. “Slowly, we can establish that [never-say-die] attitude more, where as long as the ball is still in play, we will continue to work.”
