THE Choco Mucho Flying Titans won their fifth game in a row after they defeated the BaliPure Water Defenders, 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center in Bacarra on Friday afternoon, July 30.
The victory assured Choco Mucho of at least a playoff for a semifinal berth but coach Oliver Almadro opted to downplay their perfect run and stressed the need for his wards to come out of each game better and stronger.
“Our 5-0 record is nothing. What’s important is that we continue to learn every day. We still have a lot of things to do,” said Almadro.
“We knew that BaliPure is so resilient and we were challenged. But the good thing was they accepted the challenge,” he added Almadro.
Kat Tolentino finished with a 25-hit game, including 23 on attacks, while Bea de Leon added 10 points and Ponggay Gaston and Maddie Madayag tossed in nine and eight hits, respectively, for Choco Mucho, which matched its sister team Creamline's big start in the country's first pro volley league.
Grazielle Bombita fired 15 hits and drew a 10-point backup from Genevieve Casugod and eight markers from Bernadette Flora. But the Water Defenders fell prey to miscues that stymied their fourth set rally and dropped to 2-3.
The Water Defenders, who hacked out their two victories in come-from-behind fashions, fought back in the second set to draw even and were on their way again to another rally when they pulled to within, 21-22, in the fourth on a combination play. But a service error and a mishit foiled what could’ve been another fiery comeback as the Flying Titans rolled to victory. (JNP)