Ivy Lacsina just couldn’t resist getting emotional after nailing an emphatic spike at match point that finally rewarded the Akari Chargers another trophy.
“With that last point, I was able to recall all that happened to our team this conference,” said Lacsina, holding back her tears after the Chargers sealed a bronze-medal finish in the PVL All-Filipino Conference with a 25-15, 26-24, 26-24 sweep of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans on Saturday.
The Chargers closed out the elimination phase ranked seventh and rose from a middling squad to a possible contender in the next conference.
But Eli Soyud and Lacsina are quite realistic about their chances with the dominant Creamline Cool Smashers and challenger Petro Gazz at the top of the pecking order.
“This is a big achievement for our team. But, I think we need to polish our game and work on minimizing our errors for us to reach the finals [next conference],” said Soyud after pacing the Chargers with 18 points, 15 from attacks and three from blocks.
Akari isn’t new to the bright lights and the loud crowd in finals, having placed second in the previous Reinforced Conference after dropping their championship series with the Cool Smashers.
But there will be a lot of things to iron out with the team, which is expected to make some key changes before the next conference.
“The work to improve should be nonstop. Our goal for this conference is to reach the podium, but of course we want the gold,” said Lacsina.
Ced Domingo contributed 13 hits and two blocks, while Lacsina added 12 points and an ace for the Chargers, who encountered several anxious moments at the height of the Flying Titans’ fightback on a pair of Sisi Rondina attacks that eventually knotted the count at 22.
Soyud smacked a cross that found the corner followed by another Lacsina smash, bringing the Chargers closer to match point.
Missed trophy
“Everybody wants to get to the championship, but it’s a long process. We need to win and we just have to keep on improving,” said Akari coach Taka Minowa.
Rondina had 14 points and two blocks, and Royse Tubino added nine points plus two deflections for the Flying Titans, who missed bringing home a trophy this time following back-to-back silver performances the past two conferences.
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