Dindin Santiago-Manabat remains upbeat over the chances of Akari despite not having the start it wanted in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.

The newest member of the Chargers sees a lot of potential in her team composed mostly of young players following a decent showing against crowd-favorite Choco Mucho last Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Akari, just on its second conference in the country's first and only women's professional volleyball league, bowed to the Flying Titans, 15-25, 20-25, 20-25, but not after giving the star-studded rivals a rough time.

"I see big potential in this team, with our young players," Manabat, who transferred from Chery Tiggo, said.

"I can see in every training their hard work."

Manabat in her first game for Akari delivered 17 points with all but one coming off kills.

Despite the loss, the 6-foot-2 winger believes that the squad handled by Brazilian Jorge Souza de Brito has a bright future ahead.

"We only had a few weeks to prepare. We've been together for just a few weeks but we're already playing at this level. What more if we play for months or years together?" Manabat said.

"For sure, with the potential of our young players, the potential of our new recruits we are heading to the right path. We'll be able to get good results."

Manabat joined the squad just last month after calling it quits with Chery Tiggo, a club she served for six seasons.

"I think I'm still in shock (playing in a different team). It feels different. We lost in our first game but I'm looking forward to being able to do better in our next games," she said.

Akari will get a chance to bounce back on Saturday when it takes on F2 Logistics at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.