Savannah Davison played with fire and determination, but even her record-breaking performance couldn’t push PLDT over the hump.
The Fil-Canadian spiker delivered a masterful 34-point explosion, yet late-game miscues haunted her as the High Speed Hitters suffered a gut-wrenching 25-15, 12-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13 defeat to Choco Mucho in Game 2 of the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Needing a win to extend the series to a deciding Game 3, Davison came out swinging, firing on all cylinders in the fifth set. She singlehandedly carried PLDT to a 5-1 lead, scoring all five points in a blistering opening run that momentarily stunned the Flying Titans.
But as the pressure mounted, the momentum shifted. Davison, who had been unstoppable for most of the match, faltered at the worst possible time, committing three crucial attack errors that allowed Choco Mucho to storm back with an 8-1 blitz, seizing a 9-6 advantage.
She fought back, adding crucial points down the stretch, but the Flying Titans found answers in Sisi Rondina and Mars Alba, whose clutch plays ultimately sealed the series-clinching win and sent Choco Mucho to the semifinals.
“Actually, my mind goes to the errors I had. It was the first couple of things—the three, four errors I had in the fifth set. It’s hard kasi you want to win so bad but you have to keep it on the court,” said Davison, who tallied nine points in the final set alone.
The former NCAA Division I standout recognized the formidable challenge posed by Choco Mucho, spearheaded by former league MVP Rondina.
“Parang no words. It was a long [conference] and we just got, I guess, the tougher bracket. But we’re not here to complain, we’re here to play. Yun lang. It boils down to the last couple of points, and they just weren’t in our favor.”
Despite the heartbreaking exit, PLDT can hold its head high after one of its most impressive campaigns in recent memory. The High Speed Hitters finished the preliminary round with an 8-3 record, securing the fourth seed before overcoming ZUS Coffee in the qualifying round to set up the quarterfinal clash with the fifth-seeded Choco Mucho.
“I guess it’s a team sport. It takes a village—coaches, management—to really pull through. It just goes to show that regardless of one person, you need everybody,” Davison reflected. “We played really well today, but like I said, it didn’t swing in our favor.”
Physically drained yet still hopeful, Davison admitted the past few days had been a grind.
“It was actually really heavy, but mind over matter. I didn’t want to say that out loud before the game. In just a couple of days, four days, it’s a lot pero it’s not a lot at the same time,” she added.
With the All-Filipino Conference now in the rearview mirror, PLDT shifts its focus to a bigger stage—the 2025 AVC Champions League. Representing the Philippines alongside Creamline and Petro Gazz, the High Speed Hitters will now test their mettle against international competition.
“It helps because now we get to look forward to something else, I guess, maybe after a couple of days off. It’s a very big tournament. It’s international. It gives us an opportunity to show our talents on a different platform, and that’s a really good experience to look forward to,” said Davison. “Hopefully, we learn from this and we show out come the AVC.”
