PVL: Choco Mucho beats Creamline for first time ever to kick off semis

For the first time ever, Choco Mucho has beaten its sister team Creamline after pulling off a 13-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-16 comeback upset in the PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinals on Tuesday at PhilSports Arena.

This victory was the Flying Titans' first win in franchise history against the Cool Smashers. Prior to today, they had lost 12 games in a head-to-head clash with the powerhouse club.

"Mahirap ipaliwanag dahil first time namin manalo sa Creamline pero sobrang thankful ako sa naging performance namin. Sobrang thankful na nakuha namin 'yung panalo," Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin said in the post-game interview.

[It's hard to explain because this is the first time we won over Creamline but I'm so thankful for our performance. I'm so thankful we were able to get the win.]

But in order to do so, the Flying Titans had to dig deep and work hard for every point.

Up 11-8 in the deciding set, Choco Mucho was far from safe as Jema Galanza unleashed back-to-back down-the-line hits to cut Creamline's deficit to just one.

Alyssa Valdez then rose to the occasion by soaring for an open kill followed by a Sisi Rondina attack error as Creamline secured the first match point at 15-14.

But veteran Royse Tubino's clutch attack and a Maddie Madayag huge rejection on Valdez saw Choco Mucho turn things around, 16-15.

After Valdez tied things up at 16-all, Rondina made sure they would get it done this time around after unloading two important kills in a row as Choco Mucho completed the upset.

Rondina top-scored with 23 points and 14 receptions while Tubino tallied 20 markers and 12 digs.

Creamline, who was missing the services of Tots Carlos due to her participation in the Korean V. League tryouts, banked on Galanza and Valdez, who poured in 23 and 21 points apiece while Michele Gumabao chipped in 18.

"Finally lang, 'yun lang. Kasi ilang conferences na namin sila pinaghandaan pero short kami lagi. Although pangit 'yung first two sets namin, at least nakabawi ang ayun nga, teamwork lang talaga," Madayag, who has been with the squad since 2019, added.

[Finally, that's all. It's been a number of conferences where we prepared for them but we always came up short. Although our first two sets weren't great, we were able to recover and it's all because of teamwork.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News