Head coach Dante Alinsunurin admits that Choco Mucho has a lot of catching up to do to become a legitimate contender in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.

A less-than-stellar start in the six-month-long season-open tournament has put the Flying Titans in the middle of the pack with an even 3-3 win-loss record.

It was a far cry from the club’s hot start and eventual runner-up finish in the previous edition of the all-local tournament.

“I always tell my players that we need to catch up and address the problems we encounter during every game and every day in practice,” Alinsunurin said.

“In terms of skills, we already have that but what we need now is to be on the same page.”

The Flying Titans saw the return of Alas Pilipinas stars Sisi Rondina and Cherry Nunag after a tour of duty. Des Cheng has recovered from a knee injury while Kat Tolentino has regained her top form.

However, middle blocker Maddie Madayag took a leave of absence to play in the Japan V.League while veteran setter Deanna Wong got sidelined by an injury.

Choco Mucho struggled with an opening-day loss to Petro Gazz and blew hot and cold in its next five games.

After consecutive wins over Galeries Tower and Capital1, the Flying Titans bowed to Cignal and defending champion Creamline.

Choco Mucho stopped the bleeding but barely escaped upset-conscious Farm Fresh in five sets heading into the holiday break.

“Hopefully, we’ll improve and address the problems that we see now. I hope in our next games we’ll execute better inside the court,” Alinsunurin said.

“We have to be better in our transition and of course, we want to solve our No. 1 problem which is our receive. We need to improve on our reception so that we can maximize our skills in scoring and blocking,” he added.

Alinsunurin looks forward to an even more competitive Choco Mucho when action resumes in January.