PVL: Undefeated Akari comes back to beat Petro Gazz

Akari’s Oly Okaro in the PVL Reinforced Conference.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Oly Okaro and Akari pulled off another come-from-behind win in the PVL Reinforced Conference as the Chargers notched their third consecutive victory on Saturday at PhilSports Arena.

Okaro once again carried Akari, now with a 3-0 record, on her back with 31 points to weather Petro Gazz and give the Angels a second consecutive loss.

Akari was coming off a reverse sweep of Choco Mucho on Tuesday and with the win over the Angels, 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 29-27, 16-14, extended its best start.

Akari coach Taka Minowa and Oly Okaro talk about their third straight win. #PVL2024 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/jFqhvFc58a

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) July 27, 2024

“Definitely, this was a really hard fought win. Petro Gazz didn’t give it to us easily. But [my] motivation is my teammates, coaches and every one who supports Akari from the very beginning until now, that’s who we play for. Nobody else,” returning libero Dani Ravena said with a mix of Filipino.

“Those who believed in us since Day 1, simple as that. So we just hope that we can continue and at least improve on the following games because it’s just going to be a really long season and hopefully it’s gonna be good for us,” Ravena added

But Okaro was not alone and got a lot of help from Grethcel Soltones who contributed 19 points from 16 attacks and three aces, Ivy Lacsina added 18 points and Ced Domingo 11 points.

“Today felt a little different. I definitely feel like I relied a lot on the team, I didn’t feel like I was always up. I felt like I just needed some kind of extra pull. I don’t think I always made the best decisions even towards the end, those crucial times to keep the serve in and I missed it so I think I could’ve done better in certain moments especially when it was one of those momentum killers in a way,” Okaro said.

Petro Gazz was not able to bounce back from a stunning sweep handed to it by Capital1 last Tuesday and was not able to convert a two-set lead even with the duo of Brooke van Sickle and Cuban import Wilma Salas.

Van Sickle paced the Angels with 24 points from 20 attacks, three aces and a block apart from 16 excellent digs as Salas chipped in 22 points built on 20 attacks and two blocks.

Remy Palma had crucial plays on the way to 11 points with rookie setter Donalyn Paralejas having extended playing minutes.

“I just lessened my excitement compared to the last game where I was super excited facing a top team (Choco Mucho),” Lacsina said. “Now, I was relaxed with ate Greta and Dani telling me to calm down and that’s probably why I had a better game.”

With everything on the line and neither side giving the other an inch to pull away, Salas tried to get the job done with two consecutive scores before Okaro responded with points of her own for the lead.

Soltones hammered the nail in the coffin with a service ace as Akari looks to maintain the momentum against ZUS Coffee, which is currently battling slumping Choco Mucho.

“We need to memorize coach Taka [Minowa’s] system. We are somehow getting it but we haven’t perfected it yet,” Lacsina said. “We will just do what the coaches want us to do because we know that at the end of the day if we want to win, they also want to win as well.”