By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Sisi Rondina and Dindin Santiago-Manabat joined hands and led the Choco Mucho Flying Titans to a convincing win over the PLDT High-Speed Hitters, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-18, in the ongoing Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on January 23, 2025, at the Philsports Arena.
The 1-2 punch provided the much-needed offense in the last three sets when the Flying Titans staged a reverse sweep after going down early with a one-set deficit.
It was a shaky start for Choco Mucho as their unforced errors allowed the High-Speed Hitters to gain early momentum, especially in the final six-game possessions when the Flying Titans had two defensive miscommunications that resulted in back-to-back freebies for PLDT.
Despite the disappointing first-set performance, the Flying Titans remained calm and started to revive their chances off several cross-court offensive plays for Rondina.
Rondina kicked off Choco Mucho’s comeback attempt with a quick scoring rally to start the second set and remained unstoppable to level the affair at 1-1.
Picking up where Rondina left off was the veteran Manabat who answered PLDT’s avalanche in the third set and gave her share on the defensive department with two crucial blocks.
However, it was in the fourth set that the Flying Titans showed their true character when they capped off their win with an 8-1 closing run.
Deadlocked at 17-all, the trio of Cherry Nunag, Rondina, and Manabat staged a scoring spree, backstopped by their disciplined floor coverage that limited the High-Speed Hitters to just a point in almost eight minutes.
Rondina led Choco Mucho with 20 points built from 18 successful attacks alongside 10 excellent receptions while Manabat delivered 16 markers and eight excellent digs.
“Sabi ko nga if ever tayo magdictate ng tempo makukuha natin yung game. Kung anong gawin nila makakaadjust tayo,” said Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin after the win.
