Stung by Chef’s Classic’s breakthrough set win in the second, Choco Mucho imposed its will in the next two frames and came away with a 25-21, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18 victory to move to solo fourth in the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan last night.
Kat Tolentino and Maddie Madayag dominated the net while Grace Masangkay provided the spark with her brilliant playmaking skills, producing 37 excellent sets, the bulk of which she delivered in the last two sets that kept the Red Spikers’ defense guessing and grasping.
Tolentino topscored with 18 hits, including 15 attack points and two kill blocks, while Arianne Angustia added 14 markers and Madayag and Bang Pineda came through with 12 and 10 points, respectively, to underscore the team’s solid offense.
Chef’s Classic drew a combined 27-point output from Nieza Viray and Justine Tiu while Trisha Paras and Bien Juanillo added seven and six points, respectively.
The Flying Titans, coming off a sorry five-set setback to the PacificTown-Army Lady Troopers in record fashion last Wednesday, shrugged off an erratic start (13-18) with a strong finish (12-3) in the opening set but wavered in the face of the Red Spikers’ charge late in the second.
Chef’s Classic surged ahead at 20-18 but Angustia scored on a quick hit to put Choco Mucho within a point before Tiu and Juanillo gave the Red Spikers a three-point cushion at 23-20.
Viray put Chef’s Classic at set point with a hit but made an attack error in the next play before a Juanilla soft push at the middle secure the team’s first set win in the conference after dropping back-to-back shutout losses to Motolite and Creamline.
But the Flying Titans re-grouped in the next two and reasserted their might to prevail in a duel of newcomers in the centerpiece all-Filipino conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
It was Choco Mucho’s second win in three starts while Chef’s Classic dropped to 0-3 in a tie with Air Force although the Red Spikers have slowly but surely finding their rhythm and cohesion three games into the season-ending tournament of the league backed by Mikasa, Asics and KFC.
Meanwhile, Motolite shoots for its second win in three games as faces a resurgent BaliPure even as BanKo-Perlas tries to cash in a weary Chef’s Classic side at resumption of action today (Sunday).
The Power Builders rebounded from a stinging setback to the Creamline Cool Smashers with a sweep of the Red Spikers but the Myla Pablo-led squad braces for a tough challenge from the Water Defenders, who finally ended a string of setbacks (12) with a five-set win over the Air Force Jet Spikers last Wednesday.
They clash at 4 p.m. before the 6 p.m. clash between the Perlas Spikers (2-2) and the Red Spikers (0-3).