Akari brushes off Army for first victory

Prisilla Rivera (middle) and the Power Chargers celebrate their victory. PVL IMAGES.

Coach Jorge Souza de Brito knows the value of a team having enough match experience entering a tournament.

But he thinks Akari has what it takes to learn on the fly.

“We are the latest team and we’re still missing more matches. So every time we come here inside and face tough teams like Army, Cignal, it will only add to our experience inside the court,” he said.

The Power Chargers turned lessons learned from a previous loss into a 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 victory over United Auctioneers Inc.(UAI)-Army on Saturday in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at Philsports Arena.

“Every time we play, we’re going to play better and I’m sure of this. It’s not only training, you have to play so every time you come inside to play, I’m sure they will play better. That’s the difference between the first and second games,” Souza de Brito said.

Prisilla Rivera, a three-time Olympian from Dominican Republic, finished with 25 points—all from spikes, where she went 25-of-48. She also chipped in a tremendous defensive effort with 11 digs and seven excellent receptions as the newest PVL team registered its first win after two games.

Janine Marciano chipped in 10 points and 15 receptions. Erika Raagas had nine points, while middle blocker Ezra Madrigal added seven, including three blocks. Team captain Michelle Cobb ran the Akari offense with 20 excellent sets while Dani Ravena protected the floor with 15 digs and eight receptions.

“We’re working hard to try to find our first victory and the guys really deserve this,” said Akari’s Brazilian coach.

Akari faces Chery Tiggo next week and Souza de Brito will have his hands full fine-tuning the Power Chargers’ offense, which gave up 25 errors against Army.

Chery Tiggo showed just how dangerous it can be later in the day as Mylene Paat led a balanced attack that shut down Cignal, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20.

The Crossovers seized the early tournament lead at 2-1 (win-loss).