Choco Mucho pulled through in a rugged third set endgame to thwart Army Black Mamba, 25-13, 25-11, 25-23, and launch its 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference campaign in straight-set fashion at the Paco Arena in Manila on Friday.
But it took the Flying Titans a power hit from lefty Caitlyn Viray and a clever play from Deanna Wong to repel the Lady Troopers, who fought back from two forgettable sets with a gutsy stand in the next that however fizzled out in the end.
“The tournament is very short and every game is really a must-win,” said Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro after his wards pounded out the 76-minute win. “So, we thank God that He gave us the strength to win our first game.”
On the short format, Almadro underscored the need for his players to focus on each match and get better and tougher in all aspects to fuel their title drive.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, and that’s the important thing. So as the tournament wears on, the battle becomes more difficult and the focus should intensify and the character (of the players) should grow.”
Poised for another set romp after a pair of trouble-free victories, the Flying Titans blew an 8-4 lead in the third frame on a series of miscues, enabling the Lady Troopers to get back into the thick of things. Army forced the first tie at 11 and then battled its fancied younger rival to six more standoffs before finally wresting control at 17-16.
But after they traded points on varying hits, the Lady Troopers regained the lead at 22-21 on a Jeanette Villareal block off Ponggay Gaston.
But Gaston struck with a big hit in the ensuing play and Viray put Choco Mucho on top again with another off-the-block hit before ageless MJ Pabayo scored on a push to keep Army alive and set the stage for a tight finish.
Viray, however, came away with another power hit and Wong completed a Gaston save off a Honey Royse Tubino attack by wittingly tossing the ball to the unguarded spot at the baseline, securing the point and the victory that tied matched F2 Logistics and Cignal HD’s early victories in Group A of the short month-long tournament.
Army, on the other hand, absorbed its second straight defeat following a four-set loss to F2 Logistics in last Wednesday’s inaugurals of the league’s second pro season organized by Sports Vision.
Kat Tolentino fired 11 hits, including nine attack points, to emerge the game’s best player, while Gaston finished with eight points and Viray added seven hits in a two-set stint as Almadro utilized a 14-player rotation.
Desiree Cheng put in a six-hit performance while Isa Molde and Cherry Nunag produced five points apiece, Bea de Leon added four hits, and Wong, Aduke Ogunsanya chipped in two points each.
No Army Trooper scored in double figures as they struggled in the first two sets with Audrey Paran coming alive late and finished with seven points to match Villareal’s output while Pabayo and Joanne Bunag had three and two points, respectively.
Compounding Army’s woes was Tubino’s poor outing as the team’s top hitter struggled for just two points after pouring in 18 hits against F2 Logistics.
Meanwhile, F2 Logistics was seeking a second straight win against Chery Tiggo at presstime.
The young Flying Titans had thought they had heard the last of their veteran rivals after sweeping the first two sets in emphatic fashions as the latter floundered under the pressure of the former’s powerful and swift ball-striking, forcing them to struggle and pile up an alarming number of unforced errors.
Meanwhile, the league takes a break today (Saturday) with the Group A teams bracing for the final grind in pursuit of berths in the knockout quarterfinal phase. The top four after the single round prelims will join the Group B cast in the next stage where the Nos. 1 and 2 teams will earn twice-to-beat edges.
In tomorrow’s resumption, Cignal HD, which stunned defending champion Chery Tiggo in four in Wednesday’s inaugurals, faces F2 Logistics at 3 p.m. while the Crossovers collide with the Flying Titans at 6 p.m.
