ILOCOS NORTE - Stung by BaliPure's fightback, Choco Mucho regrouped and put its act together then stifled the Water Defenders' vaunted endgame rally with timely hits aided by the former's costly miscues as it fashioned out a 25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21 win in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic Cultural Center in Bacarra here, Friday.
The victory was the Flying Titans' fifth straight, assuring the team of at least a playoff for a semifinal berth but coach Oliver Almadro opted to downplay their unbeaten run and instead 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, who also took notice of the Flying Titans' ability to rise to the tests and challenges that have kept them going halfway through the single round elims.
"We knew that BaliPure is so resilient and we were challenged. But the good thing was they (Flying Titans) accepted the challenge," added Almadro, singling out Kat Tolentino and Denden Lazaro-Revilla for their big plays.
Tolentino came away 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 8 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. They slid 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 level 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 as BaliPure struggled on its first ball, leading to a Tolentino down-the-line hit that wrapped up the one-hour, 51-minute triumph.
With Tolentino on the firing end, Choco Mucho unloaded 49 spikes, nine more than their rivals, and came up with six blocks against the Water Defenders' three with Lazaro-Revilla also producing 31 digs and 10 excellent receptions to earn the game's top honors. (ND)
