Maddie Madayag (right) will lead “a new set of people.” —PVL PHOTO
Coming off in its most successful PVL campaign and after dipping its hands in the free agent market in the offseason, Choco Mucho now has the belief that it can go all the way.
And Maddie Madayag, who returns as team captain, is looking forward to leading her squad to finally reach their goal.
“I think we take it as an inspiration,” Madayag said, referring to the Flying Titans’ silver medal finish in the last All-Filipino Conference. “Especially that we have four new members on the team that’s gonna help us grow and play better. We’re very excited to start this first conference of 2024.”
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During the offseason, Choco Mucho revamped its roster by picking up Mars Alba from the defunct F2 Logistics, libero Bia General from Cignal while also energizing its offense by calling back veteran hitter Royse Tubino and Mean Mendrez from PLDT.
Smarts and firepower
The new additions bring smarts and firepower to the core that is still learning the ropes of coach Dante Alinsunurin’s system, a struggle that Madayag knows well, having gone through the process when the mentor took over the team before the last season.
“It’s a challenge because I just returned as captain and I would be leading a new set of people … but I accept the challenge,” Madayag said.
READ: Finals loss stokes Choco Mucho hunger for title
“Knowing that they are still new, we are heightening our patience with each other for them to understand the system,” Madayag said. “It took us a conference or more to fully grasp coach Dante’s system … they listen to what the coaches want to happen and so far they are doing well.”
This season will no longer be one of redemption for the Flying Titans and Madayag, who will see a lot more minutes after Bea de Leon transferred to Creamline.With that second place finish to the Cool Smashers, the Flying Titans have proven that they are championship caliber, effectively shedding an unwanted tag of a glamor team that never gets it done.
“I think last year was our redemption year coming from like stomp seventh place for how many conferences,” Madayag said as Choco Mucho eyes to continue working on itself to reach its goal of returning to the Finals.
And from the remarkable finish, Madayag believes that it’ll only get better.