Choco Mucho Flying Titans in Game 1 of the PVL All-Filipino Finals against Creamline Cool Smashers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Choco Mucho Flying Titans are back where they were last December when they lost Game 1 to defending champion and sister team Creamline in the PVL Finals.
But with their backs against the wall once again this time in the 2024 All-Filipino Conference Finals, coach Dante Alinsunurin wants his team to remember that it’s not all the same–having a deeper roster this time.
“We didn’t fall short because of our lineup. What we lacked was [composure] in the end game of every set. Every time we establish a lead, we encounter matchup problems,” said Alinsunurin in Filipino after the 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 loss.
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“We learned that we need to keep our momentum until the end so Creamline won’t have a chance to steal it.”
Choco Mucho couldn’t sustain its first set win, failing to solve Creamline’s depth to drop the opener of their best-of-three series on Thursday in front of 17,457 fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Last December, the Flying Titans also lost Game 1 in four sets before falling to the Cool Smashers in five sets in front of a record crowd in Game 2.
Alinsunurin said his wards were quiet inside the locker room, but he encouraged his team that the series is not yet over with a fair chance to tie the series in Game 2 and force a decider.
READ: PVL: Creamline closes in on another title, beats Choco Mucho in Game 1
“We have to leave everything that happened earlier in this dugout because it’s hard to deal too much in this kind of situation since we’re the challenger here,” the second-year Choco Mucho coach said.
“What’s important for us right now is to have the proper mindset in training and work on our problems, especially our end game lapses.”
“We will continue to trust each other. We know our shortcomings in this game and we will try to address it. We just have to change our mindset that this coming Sunday we have to win the game,” he added.
Sisi Rondina carried Choco Mucho with a game-high 27 points on top of 12 digs and six excellent receptions. Royse Tubino chipped in 15 points, while Isa Molde added eight points and 13 receptions.
Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Although they continue to miss Kat Tolentino due to an auditory condition, Alinsunurin insisted that they have more manpower against Creamline compared to last year’s finals and they just need more consistency throughout the game
“Since then, Creamline’s strength is its depth. They have players to fill in the void when someone commits mistakes. For our part, at least we realized that we don’t lack in terms of roster depth, it’s just we couldn’t handle the late set situations,” he said.
“That’s a lesson learned for us. But our team has improved a lot compared to last year, we’re already winning [we beat Creamline in the semis].”
Despite the loss, Alinsunurin thanked the fans for their continuous support for the Flying Titans through thick and thin as he hopes to repay their trust by forcing a winner-take-all Finals Game 3.
“We didn’t get Game 1 but we will try our best to come back in this series. Our fans’ support is important to us because their presence boosts the team’s morale and inspires the players to do better,” he said.