PLDT outhustles Choco Mucho for share of lead

PLDT pulled off an upset over Choco Mucho in a 25-20, 25-12, 23-25, 11-25, 15-13, marathon win in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Tuesday night at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The High Speed Hitters scored their second straight win and blemished the Flying Titans' erstwhile perfect record to tie their victims at 4-1 win-loss record.

PLDT and Choco Mucho are joined by defending champion Creamline, PLDT and Petro Gazz at the top spot.

Playmaker Kim Fajardo mobilized the High Speed Hitters with 22 excellent sets on top of eight points she collected from four attacks, two kill blocks, and two aces.

High Speed Hitters coach Rald Ricafort downplayed the angle of putting a dent on Choco Mucho's record but the team set a goal of moving up the standings.

"We didn't think about breaking their streak. What's important is (winning) this game so that we can achieve our goal to be in the top four," Ricafort said.

"We're happy that we won, and it erased the memory from the last conference when we broke down in the fifth set, at least," he continued.

The fifth set was a see-saw affair with PLDT breaking a 13-13 deadlock with a hit by Kiesha Bedonia for the High Speed Hitters to reach matchpoint.

PLDT got away with the win after Choco Mucho opposite spiker  Kat Tolentino sent her attack long. The Flying Titans called for a video challenge but was unsuccessful in their block touch review.

Sisi Rondina's 25-point performance, 20 of which came from attacks, and Tolentino's 18 markers was not enough to save the Flying Titans from the jaws of defeat.

"Coach knew how pissed I am in the first two sets," Rondina said.

"They have a strategy in the game. Their plays are fast-paced. We didn't expect that," she said.

Rondina, however, saw a silver lining when PLDT committed multiple errors in the third set, 20-21, allowing her to score the last three points for the Flying Titans.

But the High-Speed Hitters did not back away from the challenge, even when the Flying Titans utilized their momentum to rally with a 10-0 run and eventually take over in the fourth set courtesy of Rondina and Tolentino's lethal offense.

Savi Davidson came out on top for the High Speed Hitters with 21 points while Erika Santos chipped in 14 points.

The High Speed Hitters will face the Farm Fresh Foxies in the triple-header Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

"Farm Fresh are no longer newbies to this game, because they've already proven their worth by beating big teams, so we got to prepare for that," Ricafort said.