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Akari faced a stern test before the commencement of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
The Chargers suffered a tough 19-25, 27-29, 25-21, 25-23, 9-15 defeat at the hands of the Adamson Lady Falcons in the Akari Cup final on Wednesday at the latter's home court.
After dropping the first two sets, the Eli Soyud-led Chargers mounted a comeback, securing the next two frames and pushing the title match to a winner-take-all fifth set.
In the deciding set, Adamson and Akari went head-to-head, but the timely entry of Eloi Aljibe midway through proved to be the difference-maker. Aljibe scored three crucial points in a fiery 5-0 start, giving the Lady Falcons a 12-7 advantage.
Fifi Sharma halted the Chargers' slide with a quick point, but Antonette Adolfo scored two consecutive points, propelling the varsity team to match point. Adolfo committed a net error before Lucille Almonte unleashed a searing off-the-block hit to conclude the game.
Meanwhile, Nxled secured a third-place finish after overcoming a gutsy Ateneo de Manila University, 16-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17, earlier in the day.
