The Choco Mucho Flying Titans on Saturday made sure they will not suffer the same fate as their last outing against the F2 Logistics in the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference.
After squandering a 2-0 lead, the Flying Titans leaned on Caitlyn Viray and Sisi Rondina to slip past the Petro Gazz Angels in a thrilling five-set marathon, 25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 18-25, 15-10 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The victory strengthened Choco Mucho’s bid for the semifinals with a 3-1 record while the Angels fell to 3-2.
"Nagdeliver naman yung players kung ano ‘man yung naging adjustments sa during game nakuha agad namin. Yung mga bagay na tinrabaho namin nung training, talagang lumabas lahat," head coach Dante Alinsunurin said.
"Sobrang thankful ako sa naging performance ng team. Total team effort talaga yung nangyari kaya sobrang thankful kami."
Joining the Flying Titans on top of the Pool B standings are F2 and Cignal HD Spikers with the same win-loss card. Only the top 2 teams will advance to the round-robin semis.
Rondina registered yet another monstrous performance with 29 big points on 25 attacks and four aces aside from 11 digs and 11 receptions. She got solid support from Viray and Des Cheng who both had 12 points apiece while Cherry Nunag added 13.
Riding on the momentum they got from the third and fourth set, the Angels roared to a 4-1 start in the deciding frame with Jonah Sabete hammering three attacks in that opening salvo. But Rondina quickly tied the match at four with her back-to-back crosscourt kills.
An ace by Maddie Madayag and an error from Petro Gazz gave Choco Mucho an 8-6 gap just in time for the change court.
Petro Gazz would knot the game at 8 but Viray was fired up in the ensuing plays as she unravelled a personal 3-0 run to give the Flying Titans a 13-9 separation.
Sabete momentarily halted Viray with a block, 10-13, but an error of Aiza Maizo-Pontillas followed by a through-the-block kill of Rondina ended the game.
Sabete top scored for the Angels with 16 points while Soltones was limited to just 15 after scoring a PVL-high 31 points in their previous match. Pontillas and Palma contributed with 26 combined points.