Michelle Cobb and Akari Chargers in the PVL Invitational Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Michelle Cobb believes that losing to UAAP team Adamson in a championship game will teach the Akari Chargers valuable lessons ahead of their campaign in the 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference, which opens on February 20.
Without Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Grethcel Soltones, the Chargers fought back from two sets down before the Adamson Lady Falcons managed to get one last push en route to the Akari Invitational Cup title, 25-19, 29-27, 21-25, 23-25, 15-9 on Wednesday.
Cobb, Akari’s main playmaker, offered no excuses for the loss to the young Lady Falcons side, who also open their season next week in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball.
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“We had lapses, but that’s no excuse. I think we should all give it to Adamson. As a collegiate team, they train together every game. They have more time together,” said Cobb after the game.
“At the end of the day, a game is a game and result is a result. And we learned a lot from this game, especially after we were down by two sets.”
Despite settling for silver with their lone loss in the week-long pocket tournament, the Chargers still relished the opportunity to square off against sister team Nxled and other collegiate teams to gauge themselves under new interim coach Raffy Mosuela.
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It also gave the team a chance to get it going with their new recruits like Soltones and libero Max Juangco, who signed with the team last week, as they try to fill in the of Justine Jazareno.
“This is important for our preparation because it’s hard to find tune-up games nowadays. These games will really boost us going into the PVL. We’re playing in a real-life situation, with referees and all,” said the Akari skipper. “
“It will help the team to jell and play as a team especially with the new additions.”
Akari Chargers in the Akari Akari Invitational Cup. –HANDOUT PHOTO
Coming off their best finish in the PVL yet in the second All-Filipino Conference with a 5-6 record, Akari is raring to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Cobb believes that the Chargers are 80 percent ready with two weeks to go before the PVL opener.
“We’re just polishing things. We’re starting to connect, but we don’t want to peak too early. We want to do it gradually, so we’re focusing one game at a time. We want to peak at thr right time,” she said.