Rousing Set 2 win not enough as Akari falls to red-hot PLDT
Coach Jorge de Brito tried and tried to find the right pieces to push Akari forward. At the end of the day, all the juggling were not enough.
The Brazilian mentor mixed and matched all available players on his roster Tuesday night, but the Chargers were unable to click just in time to virtually be eliminated from contention in the 2023 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Banking on a balanced offensive attack, PLDT rolled to its fourth straight win — a 25-14, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15 mauling of Akari at the Philsports Arena.
The High Speed Hitters had six players scoring at least seven points, as Rhea Dimaculangan deftly steered her team with 22 excellent sets that translated into 54 attack points.
The start was ominous for the Chargers, as Chiara Permentilla and Dindin Santiago-Manabat combined for three early attacking errors in the first set.
However, Akari showed signs of vigor in the second frame, as De Brito shuffled his lineup and inserted Jhoana Maraguinot and Cams Victoria in lieu of Erika Raagas and Ezra Madrigal.
The Chargers raced to a 7-3 lead after an ace by Manabat before three straight errors and an ace by Mich Morente shoved PLDT into the driver’s seat at 14-13.
De Brito finally replaced the struggling Permentilla with Trisha Genesis while Maraguinot started to heat up, scoring four of Akari’s next five points on a combination of kills and blocks to give her team an 18-15 cushion.
Then Eli Soyud happened.
Sent in for Manabat, who’s had a quiet performance, Soyud was the recipient of unlimited sets by Jaja Maraguinot and boy did she take advantage. Facing her former team, the 5-foot-11 opposite found inspiration and repeatedly punctured through the High Speed Hitters’ defense.
Soyud scored five of the Chargers’ final seven points of the set in scintillating fashion, putting her team at set point after a late onslaught led by PLDT reserve Erika Santos.
That, however, was the high point of the match for Akari, as it all went downhill from there. The High Speed Hitters zoomed to an 8-2 lead in Set 3 and never looked back, burying the Chargers in a 24-8 hole before ending the misery.
De Brito returned to the Soyud-Maraguinot combination to start the fourth and it paid off early with a 4-1 advantage. But Morente and Mika Reyes conspired in a 6-1 run that wrested the lead from Akari, never to give it back again.
Genesis gallantly fought to keep the Chargers afloat, but her efforts weren’t enough, as nobody else stepped up to the plate in the fourth frame.
Manabat posted a season-low 10 points while Genesis and Soyud came off the bench to score seven points each — all off kills. Jhoana Maraguinot and Krich Macaslang added six markers apiece.
On the other hand, Morente continued her rise with 14 points, Palomata had 13, Reyes added 10, while Meann Mendrez, Jovie Prado, and Santos combined for 24 points.
