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Choco Mucho enters breakthrough finals; faces sister team Creamline

Choco Mucho sets up a finals showdown against sister team Creamline. (PVL photo)
SOCIAL MEDIA

Choco Mucho ended a four-year wait for a breakthrough championship appearance after beating Cignal, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, in Game 3 of a grueling best-of-three Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinals series Tuesday night.

The Flying Titans and their legion of fans inside the Philsports Arena in Pasig City broke into a frantic celebration after the HD Spikers’ video challenge for a block touch on Vanie Gandler’s down the line attack showed no contact on the ball.

Choco Mucho, thus, set up an exciting dream finals showdown against its sister team unbeaten defending champion Creamline.

Game 1 of the best-of-three championship is scheduled on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Finally, we’re in the championship round. Right from the first conference we’ve seen the hard work and effort of this team. In the second (All-Filipino) conference we’ve seen the fruits of our labor from the players to the coaching staff and the management, which is always there to guide us,” Flying Titans head coach Dante Alinsunurin said.

“All our hard work paid off today and we really wanted to win and get this Game 3,” added Alinsurin, who steered Choco Mucho to the finals in his first season after replacing Oliver Almadro.

Sisi Rondina led four other Flying Titans in double-digit scoring with 21 points, all from kills, and added 19 excellent receptions.

Kat Tolentino added 17 markers, middles Cherry Nunag and Maddie Madayag had 12 markers each while Isa Molde chipped in with 10 for Choco Mucho, who hammered down 67 attack points – nine more than the HD Spikers’ output.

Cignal gave the Flying Titans some anxious moments late in the fourth set when it chipped away Choco Mucho’s three-point advantage with back-to-back hits to close in, 21-22.

But Nunag pounded a hard kill off a missreceive before Choco Mucho skipper Bea de Leon overcooked her serve. Tolentino quickly answered with a crosscourt hit, Cignal had a break on the next play before Gandler’s wayward hit.

Gandler finished with 20 points with all but one coming off kills while Ces Molina made 19 markers with eight digs and nine excellent receptions for the HD Spikers, who squandered a 1-0 series lead after getting swept by the Flying Titans in Game 2 last Saturday that forced a decider.

Jovelyn Gonzaga added eight points and 21 digs for Cignal.

The HD Spikers will face Chery Tiggo in the best-of-three battle for third.

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