Games Wednesday:
(FilOil EcoOil Centre)
4 p.m. — Choco Mucho vs Army
6:30 p.m. — Petro Gazz vs PLDT
Dindin Santiago-Manabat got plenty of help on offense as Akari barged into the win column at the expense of listless Army, 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Chargers recovered from a third set meltdown to turn back the feisty Lady Troopers and arrest their three-game skid.
Manabat was in her usual attacking mode to finish with 23 points off 20 attacks, two kill blocks and an ace to seal her first win in an Akari jersey.
But it was the contributions of their teammates that spelled the difference in the match that needed two hours and 19 minutes to finish.
Middle Ezra Madrigal made her presence felt after a quiet first three outings with a productive game of 10 points as she made a living in front of the net both on offense and defense to ease the scoring burden from Manabat.
Chiara Permentilla finished with 13 points, all coming off attacks, 10 excellent receptions and eight digs for the Chargers while Janine Marciano added seven points and Jaja Maraguinot got six markers.
Army threatened to force a fifth set with a hot start in the fourth frame only to falter in the end as Akari blasted a 9-3 finishing kick capped by a Manabat ace to shatter a 16-16 tie.
“I would like to congratulate my players for their hard work to get this win,” Akari head coach Jorge de Brito said.
Army avoided a shutdown after surviving a tightly-contested third set. Lady Troopers setter Sarah Jane Gonzales broke a 23-23 deadlock with a timely toss to an undefended spot for the setpoint advantage before Erika Raagas committed an attack error in the next play to surrender the frame.
The Chargers took a set for the first time in the season-opening tournament after dropping their previous three games in straight sets, recovering from a slow start in the first set.
Akari rallied from a 3-6 deficit using a 5-1 blast to take the lead. Costly errors in the next string of exchanges and the relentless pounding of Manabat and Marciano on its brittle net defense did Army in.
The Lady Troopers briefly held the lead in the second frame, 15-14, off a hit by Royse Tubino and knotted the set at 16 only to see the Chargers pull away in the closing stretch of the frame.
Victory remained elusive for Army as it absorbed its third straight defeat.
The Lady Troopers lost 16 straight games dating back from the end of eliminations of the PVL Invitational Conference last year.
Tubino fired 20 points off 17 kills, two kill blocks and an ace while Jeanette Villareal had 12 in a losing effort for Army, which gave away 28 points off errors.
