Games Thursday
1:30 p.m. – Cignal vs Capital1
4 p.m. – Farm Fresh vs Choco Mucho
6:30 p.m. – Nxled vs PLDT
Akari bounced back from a heartbreaking five-set loss with a straight-sets win – but not without a scare.
The Chargers turned back a gritty Galeries Tower side, 25-11, 25-23, 25-23, to firm up their Top 3 bid in Pool B of the PVL Reinforced Conference at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Tuesday.
Poised for a quick rebound after bowing to Petro Gazz last Thursday, the Chargers looked headed for a stress-free outing after a dominant first set. But what seemed like a walk in the park quickly turned into a test of composure as the Highrisers refused to fold, pushing Akari to the brink in the last two frames.
They even fell behind by five, 18–23, in the third before Ced Domingo, Annie Mitchem and Grethcel Soltones took charge, igniting a blistering 7-0 finishing run that sealed the sweep – their first of the conference after winning two and dropping one in draining five-set duels.
Akari trailed majority of the set but never wavered. Soltones and Domingo then hammered back-to-back attacks to cut the deficit to four at 18-22. Montenegrin import Jelena Cvijovic countered with a sharp down-the-line attack to keep the Highrisers ahead but the Chargers unleashed that decisive closing run – aided by a couple of Galeries Tower miscues – to close out the match in one hour and 26 minutes.
“’Yun naman talaga ‘yung goal namin e, ‘yung ma-sweep ‘yung lahat ng games namin, I mean ‘yung remaining games, but still we have to work on do’n sa mga attitude namin towards sa game, attitude din namin within our teammates,’ said Akari head coach Tina Salak.
“Kumbaga mahirap pa kasi ngayon i-align lahat because meron kaming binabago sa sistema, so very fortunate ako si Mars ‘yung setter namin. And nakukuha kasi niya ngayon ‘yung adjustment namin na ginagawa,” she added.
Mitchem paced Akari with 14 points on 10 attacks and four kill blocks to go along with seven excellent digs and four excellent receptions, while Eli Soyud added 14 markers on eight attacks, three aces and one block.
Soltones tallied nine markers and five excellent receptions for the Chargers, while Fifi Sharma contributed eight points in a balanced offensive effort led by Mars Alba, who seamlessly drove the offense with 20 excellent sets while adding four points.
Akari will take on ZUS Coffee on Tuesay at the MOA Arena.
On the other hand, the Highrisers finished the first round winless at 0-5 and will head to Pool D, where they will face the top three squads from Pool A.
Cvijovic put up 10 points and seven excellent receptions, while Jean Asis and France Ronquillo chipped in nine markers apiece for the Highrisers.
