CHOCO Mucho reached a PVL Finals for the very first time after beating Cignal, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, in do-or-die Game Three of their 2023 All-Filipino Conference semifinals on Tuesday.
Now standing in the Flying Titans' path to a breakthrough championship is their more illustrious sister club Creamline, which will be shooting for a seventh PVL title in a best-of-three championship series starting on Thursday.
Now 13 games in, Creamline has yet to drop a single match all conference.
Deanna Wong tallied 24 excellent sets to set the stage for the Flying Titans’ first trip to the finals since joining the league in 2019. The win as it is guarantees a maiden PVL podium finish for the popular club.
"As a team naman, ‘yung una naming goal was to be part of the top four, to be part of the semifinals. So being part na ng championship, sobrang blessed lang at grateful na nakarating kami rito,” Wong said.
"It’s not even just (winning) this series, it’s how long it’s taken for Choco Mucho to get to the finals is what I’m so thankful for. It’s been a long journey especially for me since I’ve been with them since the beginning. It’s years of hard work and I’m just very thankful for Sisi (Rondina) and Coach Dante (Alinsunurin) for bringing out the best in this team," said Kat Tolentino, who had 17 points in the series-clinching win.
"Masaya and at the same time, nagpapasalamat kami kay Coach Dante dahil nagbago talaga ‘yung programa ng Choco Mucho. Siyempre sa personal din na mindset ng teammates ko kasi hindi lang ako ‘yung gusto na mangyari ‘to, sila rin.
"Nadaan lang talaga namin sa pasensya, tiyaga, trabaho, at gutom talaga manalo. Gusto lang talaga namin na magbunga lahat ng pagod namin para sa lahat ng taong nandyan at sumuporta sa’min," added Rondina after a game-high 21 attack points.
The lone semis rubber match lived up to its billing as all four sets were decided by the finest of margins and were a matter of which team can capitalize first on the breaks of the game.
A heroic 39-point Cignal combo punch from Vanie Gandler and reigning MVP Ces Molina couldn't stop a lethal yet balanced Choco Mucho offense, with key contributions from Cherry Nunag (12 points) and Isa Molde (10 points).
