Choco Mucho forged a semifinals showdown with Chery Tiggo after beating Petro Gazz, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference on Friday at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center.
Choco Mucho vs Petro Gazz recap
Ponggay Gaston and Maddie Madayag showed the way for the Flying Titans to turn back the Angels, who drew a strong showing from their bench mob.
Choco Mucho bounced back from a five-set loss to Creamline last Wednesday and regained the solo second spot with an 7-1 record ahead of the Final Four.
The Flying Titans take on the Crossovers in their last elimination match on Saturday, a day before Game 1 of their best-of-three semis series.
Both squads are already locked in the second and third spots even if Choco Mucho beats Chery Tiggo and ties Creamline’s 8-1 finish as the league will break the two-way tie via win over the other rule.
Gaston and Madayag led the team’s balanced attack with 14 points each and the latter providing six kill blocks. Kat Tolentino had 13 points and 20 digs, while Bea De Leon added 10 markers.
Deanna Wong made 26 excellent sets on top of nine points and libero Denden Lazaro-Revilla had 21 digs and 13 excellent receptions.
Regine Arocha was also instrumental with 13 points. She delivered a go-ahead spike for 22-20 advantage in the fourth set before she cramped out when Petro Gazz tied the set at 23 after Remy Palma’s hit.
Choco Mucho escaped with a service error from Jessey De Leon and setting miscue from Ivy Perez.
“Both teams played well, yun lang naman. Yung mga players ko played well also, we thank the Lord for the strength and buti no major injuries,” said Flying Titans head coach Oliver Almadro.
Petro Gazz finished the eliminations with a 6-3 record in fourth seed, facing rival Creamline in the best-of-three semis starting on Sunday.
Ria Meneses and Grethcel Soltones led the Angels with 14 points each and the latter adding 37 excellent receptions and 19 digs. Palma, Myla Pablo and Ces Molina added nine each in their defeat.