Flying Titans bag VTV Cup bronze

Choco Mucho heads into the third conference of the Premier Volleyball League full of confidence after a podium conquest in the VTV Cup in Vietnam.

High-flying power-hitter Sisi Rondina once again soared to propel the Flying Titans to a bronze medal finish after blasting Japan's Kansai University, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 25-18, in the battle for
third Saturday night in Lao Cai.

Irked by an apparent bad call late in the second set that could have gone to an extension, Choco Mucho went on a tear in the next two frames with Des Cheng, Maddie Madayag, Cherry Nunag and Caitlyn Viray joining Rondina in the scoring fray.

The Flying Titans beat the young Japanese squad for the second time after a 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, decision to kick off their campaign last week.

Choco Mucho also celebrated the inclusion of Rondina and Madayag to the VTV Cup Dream Team.

Rondina, who placed third in the race for the Best Scorer award, was named Best Outside Spiker while Madayag received the Best Middle recognition for their stellar showing in the six-team tournament.

A consistent scorer throughout the competition, Rondina wrapped up her stint with a performance to remember after putting up a game-high 24 points.

The 2019 University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player got all her points off attacks in an efficient 24-of44 spiking clip.

Choco Mucho also celebrated the inclusion of Rondina and Madayag to the VTV Cup Dream Team.

Madayag had 16 points from 12 kills, two kill blocks and two aces while Viray and Nunag got 13 and 11 markers, respectively, for the Flying Titans.

Meanwhile, Vietnam 1 completed a clean sweep to the gold medal after defeating Vietnam 2, 25-14, 26-24, 25-19, in the final.

Choco Mucho outgunned the Japanese, 61-49, in attacks and was active on net defense with nine as Nunag accounted for three kill blocks. The Dante Alinsunurin-mentored squad also landed nine aces.

The Flying Titans had a chance to force a deuce in the second frame after Rondina and Madayag scored consecutive hits to tie it at 23 only to see Regine Arocha commit a costly service error that put Kansai University at set point.

The game could have gone to an extension after Japan was seen touching the net but the referee called Cheng for an overreach much to the dismay of the Choco Mucho side.

But it only fueled the Flying Titans as they raced to a 5-0 start in the third frame that eventually ballooned to 19-10.

Kansai University held a 6-5 advantage in the fourth but was easily erased by Rondina and company to erect a 17-11 gap just enough to cushion a mini rally by the Japanese before Choco Mucho dropped a closing 5-0 barrage.

Hikaru Tamura, who shared the Best Outside Spiker award with Rondina, led Kansai University with 16 points while An Akazue and Yui Yoshioka added 11 each.

Choco Mucho finished the tournament with a 4-3 overall record losing to Vietnam 1 and Vietnam 2 in the preliminary round. The Flying Titans fell short in the semifinal against Vietnam 2 in a heart-breaking five-set decision.