Looking good

Composure and grace under pressure once again saved Akari in another marathon escape over Chery Tiggo, 25-11, 22-25, 29-27, 17-25, 15-7, to stay unbeaten in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

A scorching 10-2 blast turned the Chargers’ one-point deficit into a six-point advantage to seize control of the fifth set on their way to back-to-back victories in Pool B.

Grethcel Soltones, Fifi Sharma, Eli Soyud and Ced Domingo connived in the deciding frame’s decisive run as Akari duplicated its five-set triumph over defending champion Creamline last Saturday in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

“Actually, we always train for five-setters. Just kidding,” Chargers head coach Tina Salak quipped.

“At least our experience with Creamline and Chery Tiggo in those five sets, we saw the character of the team, we saw the growth of the team, and the composure of the team. We’ve seen a lot of players maturing, providing big roles and maturity to the team. Good thing, aside from winning five-setters, each one is also having individual growth,” Salak added.

Soyud led the Chargers’ balanced scoring with 17 points from 10 kills, five aces and two kill blocks while American import Annie Mitchem added 17 points built on 15 spikes and two kill blocks to go with 15 excellent receptions.

Domingo led Akari’s block party with five of the team’s 11 monster blocks to finish with 16 points, Chenie Tagaod provided 11 markers off the bench while Sharma tallied 10 points.

The Chargers went behind, 2-3, in the deciding frame after the EV Crossovers went off hot following a strong fourth set performance.

A quick attack by Sharma followed by a Soltones crosscourt hit fueled the blitz of the last edition’s runner-up, with Domingo and Soyud contributing hits in Akari’s 10-4 separation.

Cess Robles and Ara Galang tried to will Chery Tiggo back to life but the Chargers won’t be denied another win with Sharma scoring two of her team’s last three points.

Veteran libero Justine Jazareno anchored Akari’s floor defense with 27 digs.

Victory eluded the EV Crossovers for the second straight time in as many outings.

Robles finished with 20 points off 16 spikes and four kill blocks while Cuban reinforcement Yunieska Robles-Batista got 17 points with 14 digs and nine excellent receptions in a wasted effort.