Akari’s bronze shines like gold

After another podium finish, it is safe to say that Akari now owns one of the successful programs in the Premier Volleyball League.

And as they are getting stronger, the management of the Chargers and their growing fans are convinced that greater things are just ahead of them.

For one, their third-place finish in the All-Filipino Conference, which no doubt felt like gold after having to climb their way up from the seventh seed and eventually, earning the bronze against a potent Choco Mucho team, was a testament to the fight, character and resolve that the team now has.

All of those are marks of a team that has the qualities and potential to become champions.

“We showed our fighting spirit. We showed that we deserve to be in the top four teams even if we came from rank seven. That was our target,” said head coach Taka Minowa in the aftermath of the team’s bronze medal-clinching 25-15, 26-24, 26-24 win over the Flying Titans.

By winning the bronze, Akari has become the lowest seeded team to land in the podium in seven years or since Banko Perlas did it back in 2018.

Prior to their bronze-medal finish, the Oly Okaro-led Chargers, owned by the flourishing Akari Lighting & Technology Corp, finished runner-up in the Reinforced Conference, a feat that established themselves as one of the league’s certified powerhouses.

This time, though, the Chargers proved that their stellar performances were no fluke with girls like Eli Soyud, Ced Domingo and Ivy Lacsina all stepping up in their playoff run.

“Of course, for us, it was a huge achievement. As you know, Oly was there last year. This time, we really have to work hard to win,” said Lacsina as she tried to hold back her tears.

“The victory is truly rewarding because we fought hard before getting here. We gave all of our blood and tears for this. We’re so happy with the result of this game.”

And seeing how Petro Gazz conquered the dynastic rule of Creamline in the finals, Akari is surely raring to get back to work and resume their quest for their first-ever PVL title.

“Of course, our job is not yet done. Our goal is to reach the podium — hopefully, gold. So, nobody will stop. We’ll just take a rest then it’s back to the drawing board for us,” Lacsina added.

“We obviously have a lot of improvement. For sure, entering the conference, everyone wants to get in the championship. For sure, that’s usually a process to become a better team. Everything is a process,” Minowa echoed.