Calm demeanor helps PLDT avert familiar collapse vs Choco Mucho

PLDT High Speed Hitters in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

It has been months since PLDT lost to Choco Mucho, a bitter reality check that happened early in the last All-Filipino Conference of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).

But the lessons the High Speed Hitters learned from that defeat are still fresh in their minds.

Faced with the prospects of blowing another valuable opportunity, PLDT dug into that memory to put away a stubborn Choco Mucho on late Tuesday.

SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024

“We reminded them (High Speed Hitters) that the result isn’t solely based on skills,” PLDT coach Rald Ricafort said in Filipino.

“The lesson we learned from our game with Choco Mucho last conference was—what I reminded them earlier—to heighten our EQ (emotional quotient),” he added after PLDT got back at the Flying Titans in a marathon 25-20, 25-12, 23-25, 11-25, 15-13 win.

In that previous showdown, the High Speed Hitters rushed to a five-point lead in the deciding set, only to lose steam in the end.

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On Tuesday, PLDT creamed Choco Mucho in the first two sets, even dominating the second frame where the High Speed Hitters made the Flying Titans look silly.

PLDT even took a five point lead in the third set, looking like it would close out its foe there.

But like a switch turned on, Choco Mucho came alive in the bottom half of the third, whipped PLDT even worse in the second and rolled into the fifth set with a whole lot of momentum behind it.

Fajardo’s a gem

Somehow, the High Speed Hitters rediscovered their composure.

“We shouldn’t base our movements on what we are feeling during bad situations, so I am happy that we got to deliver in that part. They were calm during the whole game,” Ricafort said. “We always remind them that that is the only way for us to execute properly.”

Savi Davison and Erika Santos played that way and paced the High Speed Hitters offensively, but more importantly, PLDT’s new setter Kim Fajardo’s decision-making stood out and lifted the team to its fourth win in five games this conference.

Davison and Santos, like in their previous meeting with Choco Mucho, were still go-to guys for PLDT. This time, though, they had valuable support coming from Kiesha Bedonia, a rookie from Far Eastern University. who delivered back-to-back crucial points in the endgame.