Bersola, BanKo shut down Choco Mucho top scorer Tolentino in latest win

MANILA, Philippines—BanKo knew exactly who it needed to stop when it faced Choco Mucho in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference Wednesday.

Kat Tolentino, the Flying Titans’ towering star who stands well over six feet, was the focus of Perlas Spikers’ defense for good reason as she averaged 18.3 points in Choco Mucho’s first three games.

BanKo’s defense, though, made life difficult for Tolentino and limited her to a humble eight-point performance in the Perlas’ Spikers’ 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 win.

“Actually we really defended Kat because she’s the no.1 scorer on that team and Kathy [Bersola]’s blocking was a big part of that,” said Nicole Tiamzon in Filipino Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Center.

Bersola, who tallied all five of BanKo’s blocks, finished with a total of 15 points while Tiamzon added 11.

Bersola also wanted to match up against Maddie Madayag, Choco Mucho’s other lanky ace, but she only had a chance once the third set got rolling.

Madayag likewise finished 15 points but she had little help outside of Tolentino and Bang Pineda.

“It was only in the third set that we really matched up against each other,” said Bersola in Filipino. “I wanted to go up against her because we know that she’s a good middle blocker also. I wanted to see what I can do if she’s in front of me.”