The Akari Chargers barged into the win column of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference after taking down Army-Black Mamba in four sets at the PhilSports Arena on Tuesday, February 21.
Dindin Santiago-Manabat took charge down the stretch to lift the Chargers to a 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19 triumph.
It was the first win of the conference for the Akari franchise after dropping their first three matches. Santiago-Manabat led all scorers with 23 points on 20 kills, two blocks and an ace, but she received support from Chiara Permentilla (13 points) and Ezra Madrigal (10 points).
The Chargers had a 58-49 advantage in kills and got 28 free points off the Lady Troopers’ errors.
“We keep on trying every single day during the training to produce better results. I’m happy for them and really grateful because we performed well,” Akari coach Jorge Edson Souza de Brito said after the game.
“Each and every one of us, we really played as a team. Each one, individually, talagang makikita mo na we wanted to win, we wanted to get this game,” Permentilla added.
Santiago-Manabat came up with clutch hits towards the end of the first two sets to give Akari a 2-0 cushion, but the Lady Troopers forced an extension, thanks to some untimely errors from the Chargers.
A crafty 1-2 play by setter Jaja Maraguinot knotted the count at 23 in the third set, but Army’s veteran playmaker, Sarah Gonzales, responded with a point of her own to put the Lady Troopers at set point. In the next rally, Erika Raagas attempted to go down the line, but sent her attack wide to finish the 40-minute frame in the Army’s favor.
The Chargers made sure that there would be no fifth set. However, a Permentilla kill and a hitting error by Army’s Royse Tubino gave Akari the lead for good, 18-16, and they reached set point after Madrigal turned back Nene Bautista at the net, 24-19.
Fittingly, Santiago-Manabat got the last word in the match with a service ace.
The Lady Troopers fell to 0-3 with the result. Squandered in the loss was a 20-point outing from Tubino, while Jeanette Villareal added 12 points. (ABS-CBN News)