Multi-titled coach Dante Alinsurin’s arrival early this year ushered in a new era for Choco Mucho.
From struggling to get out of the bottom half of the standings to absorbing heartbreaks from falling short of a podium finish, the Flying Titans under his watch turned into legitimate contenders.
Alinsunurin steered Choco Mucho to a breakthrough runner-up finish just in the third conference of his Premier Volleyball League debut season.
The Flying Titans had their best campaign since joining the league in 2019 as they not only entered the finals for the first time but also pushed powerhouse Creamline to the limit in an epic Game 2 witnessed by a Philippine volleyball record-breaking crowd inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Saturday.
Although Choco Mucho yielded in a hard-fought 25-22, 20-25, 27-29, 26-24, 12-15, best-of-three championship clincher, the club made a clear statement that it’s more than just a crowd-drawer.
Alinsunurin, however, refused to take all the credit for the success of the Flying Titans under his system.
“I’m really thankful to our players, our team. Midway into our campaign, I told them that it’s not about my system anymore, but the Choco Mucho system. You’ve already embraced it,” said Alinsunurin, who officially came on board last January as a replacement for Oliver Almadro.
“This is our legacy, it’s not the coach Dante system anymore. It’s the Choco Mucho way that we work with during training.”
Alinsunurin at the start of the year was stripped by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation of his men’s national team head coach duties citing he might not be able to properly handle the squad with his college team and club commitments.
He, however, proved that he could handle multiple teams after steering National University men’s team to a perfect run to rule the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 before taking Sta. Elena-NU to the inaugural Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference throne a day before carrying Choco Mucho to a silver medal finish.
His system also showed promise when the Flying Titans claimed bronze in the VTV Cup in Vietnam before the start of the 2nd PVL AFC.
