Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) – The Choco Mucho Flying Titans swept the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in Game 1 of their semis matchup to move a win away for a finals seat in the 2021 PVL Open Conference.
Kat Tolentino topscored for Choco Mucho with 11 points while Deanna Wong had 16 excellent sets in their victory, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21, Sunday at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
The towering duo of Bea de Leon and Maddie Madayag also chipped in 10 points apiece for the Oliver Almadro-mentored squad.
Choco Mucho’s ploy on Saturday, when the star players were given limited minutes inside the court, worked wonders for them in their semifinals match with Chery Tiggo as they showed their brilliance in executing well-placed attacks in a dominant first set.
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The second set was a come-from-behind victory for the Flying Titans after the Crossovers stepped up their game with crosscourt hits from sisters Dindin and Jaja Santiago. Chery Tiggo was leading 22-20, but Choco Mucho scored crucial spike points from Tolentino and aces from Regine Arocha for a 2-0 set lead.
The Flying Titans, who played their third straight game in the same number of days, looked comfortable to grab the win in the third set as they continued to punish the Crossovers with attacks in all ends of the floor.
Choco Mucho’s Ponggay Gaston made a cross-court hit for match point, but Chery Tiggo’s Shaya Adorador answered with a drop. Madayag ended the game with a quick attack.
“We have to keep on doing what is right,” said Almadro.
The Santiago sisters led the Crossovers in scoring, Dindin with 17 and Jaja with nine points. Setter Jasmine Nabor also recorded 20 excellent sets in the game.
Choco Mucho and Chery Tiggo will play their third straight game on Monday for Game 2 of their semifinals match.
