Sisi Rondina and the middle blockers of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans pulled their act together to claim their first win in the VTV Cup 2023 in Lao Cai, Vietnam on Saturday.
Choco Mucho bucked a third-set hiccup to tally a 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22 opening win against Japan’s Kansai University.
Rondina got ample support from Cherry Nunag and Maddie Madayag, especially in the tight parts of the game, to go 1-0 in the international tournament.
Tied at 4-all, the Flying Titans went for a mini 4-0 salvo, capped by a rejection by Rondina, for an 8-4 lead in the third set.
But the Japanese squad kept on challenging them as they cut the lead to just one after a down-the-line kill, 9-10.
Choco Mucho widened the gap in the succeeding plays with Nunag, and several errors of Japan made it a 16-10 game.
Japan threatened to come back when they went as close as 20-22 after a fast-set play.
Caitlyn Viray showed nerves of steel in the latter part of the set, including a down-the-line spike that put them at match point, 24-22.
Madayag averted any possible attempt to overturn the result as she scored off a block point, 25-22.
In the first set, the Philippines appeared to be on course in dominating the game as they built a 20-13 breather.
Desiree Cheng and Nunang teamed up in the frontline to easily capture the first set, including the set-clinching crosscourt shot of the former.
Choco Mucho will next face the Vietnamese squad that features the country’s star Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and Doan Thi Lam Oanh on Sunday.