PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Choco Mucho knocked out Chery Tiggo, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23, to kick off the English Premier League Volleyball League (PVL) Conference campaign.
Kat Tolentino scored 22 points from 20 strikes as the Flying Titans damaged the debut of new Crossovers coach Clarence Esteban, who missed five players including Dindin Santiago-Manabat due to an ankle sprain.
Chery Tiggo also missed EJ Laure, Buding Duremdes, Alina Bicar and Justine Dorog due to health and safety procedures.
The Filipino-Canadian tennis player is delighted that her team has been very fair despite facing an unknown opponent.
“Obviously a good start to the season but it’s not enough. Chery did not have their full power. They are missing a few players. But despite that, we still played and I think we fought with all our hearts,” Tolentino said. “We have a lot of things to fix and we’re going to learn from this game.”
Besides Tolentino, Isa Molde also delivered to Choco Mucho with 9 points and 16 diggings. Aduke Ogunsanya had seven points, including three tackles, while Des Cheng added six more marks and 16 excellent saves.
Deanna Wong, who is still recovering from a shin injury, launched 16 excellent sets and scored 5 goals, as libero Denden Lazaro-Revilla had 18 dugouts and 7 hits.
“We still have to learn more and work harder. It was really not an easy match for us. We knew that Chery wasn’t human but they fought well against us,” said Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro. “We acknowledge that we still have a long way to go from perfection.”
Chery Tiggo stood up bravely in the third set, saving three match points to shorten the lead to 24-23. But Tolentino made a winning attack.
Mylene Paat brings Crossover with 10 points. Shaya Adorador has nine points, while goal scorer Jasmine Nabor is the team’s third-best scorer with eight points in an excellent 23 sets.
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