Choco Mucho scores first win against Creamline

Finally, Choco Mucho solved the Creamline puzzle as it pulled off a heart-stopping 13-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-16 victory in the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference last night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Sisi Rondina was on fire while veteran Royse Tubino chipped in significant numbers for the Flying Titans, who won over the Cool Smashers for the first time in 12 encounters — or since entering the country’s most prestigious women’s club volleyball league in 2019.

Rondina, the heart and soul of the Flying Titans’ assault, knocked down 21 attacks, a block and an ace to finish with 23 points while Tubino flaunted her vintage form with 20 points on top of 12 excellent digs.

Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin, who gained a reputation as a miracle worker after leading the men’s national volleyball team to a historic silver medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, admitted that he couldn’t describe the feeling of beating the seemingly invincible Cool Smashers.

“It’s hard to explain because it’s our first time winning against Creamline. I’m so thankful for our performance,” said Alinsunurin, who took advantage of the absence of prized hitter Tots Carlos.

Carlos, the reigning Most Valuable Player, is still in South Korea for the 2024 Korean V-League Women’s Asian Quota Draft set from 29 April to 1 May.

“Our situation earlier was so hard, but we really pushed on what we should do in the court earlier.”

If Rondina and Tubino were in charge of peppering the defense with timely bombs, Isa Molde and Maddie Madayag manned the frontline, conspiring for 11 of the Flying Titans’ 15 total blocks that demoralized the Cool Smashers’ attackers.

Molde finished with 12 points while Madayag had eight for Choco Mucho, which drew five points from Cherry Nunag and one point apiece from Mars Alba and Maika Ortiz.

“All credits goes to my teammates who helped us win the game today,” Rondina said.

“As Maddie (Madayag) said, ‘Finally, we won one against Creamline.”

Dubbed as the “Rebisco Clasico,” fans were at the edge of their seats as Rondina and veteran superstar Alyssa Valdez figured in a virtual showdown of firepower and grace in the deciding set

But it was Rondina who emerged on top after scoring Choco Mucho’s last two points to secure the win despite being limited to just six points in the first two sets.

Tubino, Molde, and Madayag’s efforts were effective in capturing the fourth set as Sisi Rondina’s attacks weren’t able to penetrate Kyle Negrito and Pangs Panaga’s defense.

The Flying Titans were also able to reduce their errors to just two to force the Cool Smashers to commit seven errors and capture the third set despite being outgunned in attacks, 12-17.

Creamline, meanwhile, was able to extinguish Choco Mucho’s rally sparked by Tubino in the second set to pull away from a 7-7 deadlock and used its collective effort to outpower the Flying Titans in attacks, 16-12.

The Cool Smashers dictated the tempo early in the first set as Gumabao, Galanza, and Valdez turned up the heat to establish a 9-2 gap and finish with a 12-point lead.

Jema Galanza’s 23 points from 19 attacks and three aces, including 13 digs and 18 excellent receptions, and Alyssa Valdez’s 21 points from 20 attacks and nine digs weren’t enough for Creamline to capture its first win in the semifinal round.