Dindin Manabat showcased her vintage form, coming away with 25 points as Akari scored an expected 25-17, 25-14, 25-20 victory over Capital1 and kept its slim semifinal hopes in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Thursday.
Despite their second straight shutout victory, the Chargers remained in seventh place with a 4-5 (win-loss) record. However, their chances of making it to the post-elims play still remained mathematically possible, hinging on the condition that they sweep their last two matches to boost their points tally and that at least three of the four teams contending for the last two semis spots do not exceed six wins.
The one-hour, 30-minute romp also served as a big morale-boost for the Chargers, who will next face the Chery Tiggo Crossovers on April 20 before wrapping up their prelims campaign in the season-opening conference organized by Sports Vision against the winless Strong Group Athletics on April 27.
“Inenjoy ko lang at syempre, makaperform kami, mailabas namin kung ano talaga yung team Akari,” said Manabat, who spiked her stellar performance with 20 kills, three blocks and two aces. “So every training, every game, ang kailangan lang talaga namin is i-enjoy and ipanalo yung mga bawat games namin.”
“Credit naman talaga sa mga bata kasi medyo yung nagkaroon ng outcome naman yung pinaghirapan namin na training,” said Akari mentor Raffy Mosuela. “Actually, medyo from the start, ang focus namin is going to Chery dahil yun yung medyo mabigat na kalaban namin. Yung sa Capital1 naman is, nagkaroon din naman kami ng gameplan kaya ayun, nanalo naman.
Although the Solar Spikers kept pace in the early stages of each frame, the Chargers asserted their dominance as the sets progressed, building on their momentum from their previous three-set victory over the Galeries Tower Highrisers last weekend.
“It was a good opportunity din for everyone to execute all of the strategies that we’ve been practicing for the past couple of weeks kasi iba din talaga naapply namin sa game so yun nga, as coach mentioned, we’re preparing talaga for Chery kasi yun talaga yung one of the top teams right now,” said top middle Fifi Sharma. “So yun, yung mindset lang namin is to perform our best this game regardless para din mabigyan kami ng kumpyansa coming into the next couple of games.”
With Manabat leading the charge, Akari tallied 48 attack points compared to the Solar Spikers’ 29. Grethcel Soltones contributed nine markers and showcased her versatility with 14 excellent digs and nine receptions.
Princess Madrigal and Faith Nisperos each scored eight points with Nisperos also finishing with six excellent receptions, while Sharma added seven markers for Akari, which also recorded seven blocks and the same number of aces, while their rivals managed only three blocks and two aces.
Although Capital1 briefly led at 8-6 in the second frame, the Solar Spikers couldn’t sustain their charge and eventually succumbed to the Chargers’ strong comeback. Similarly, they held a 13-12 advantage in the third, but after Manabat tied it with a blast, the Chargers scored 12 of the last 19 points, sealing the victory with Soltones crisp crosscourt attack and a Roselle Baliton quick hit.
Jorelle Singh came away with 10 points while Janeca Lana scored eight markers and Lourdes Clemente added six points for the Solar Spikers, who fell to 1-8.
