F2 commits 5-set heist over Choco Mucho; Chery goes the distance with Akari

MANILA, Philippines – The F2 Cargo Movers dug deep from an 11-14 fifth-set deficit to stun the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in a near three-hour marathon, 21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-21, 18-16, at the sweltering, packed PhilSports Arena on Tuesday, July 11.

In front of 7,067 fans, Kianna Dy delivered yet another stellar scoring display with a team-high 24 points off 21 attacks, 2 blocks, and 1 ace, helping F2 neutralize Sisi Rondina’s 28-point eruption with 16 excellent digs and 15 excellent receptions.

Captain Aby Maraño scored 14 in the thriller, while Majoy Baron and Jolina dela Cruz added 11 points apiece. The most important stat of the game however was 2 – the number of successful challenges made by the Cargo Movers’ coaching staff that twice nullified an impending Choco Mucho victory.

F2 first correctly called a net touch on Bea de Leon to force a 14-all tie, before it successfully challenged for a block touch on a Dela Cruz spike that netted a 15-all deadlock.

Following another match point from a Rondina backrow attack, 16-15, and a saving spike from Mars Alba, 16-all, the Cargo Movers finally caught a break with a Dela Cruz ace, 17-16, before Ivy Lacsina wrapped up the nip-and-tuck affair with one last crosscourt kill.

“This win is very important for us because we were one of the top seeds last time, but we always went through games like this,” said F2 head coach Regine Diego in Filipino.

“We have to learn from this also and we will keep going because it’s not yet done. This is not the championship. It was just a good game with my girls.”

Des Cheng backstopped Rondina’s herculean effort with 13 points, but was unable to play in the crucial fifth set due to dehydration stemming from the extremely humid conditions inside PhilSports.

Deanna Wong tallied 21 excellent sets, while Kat Tolentino added a conference-high 9 off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Chery Tiggo Crossovers broke through with another five-set game against the Akari Chargers, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-7, thanks to a top-scoring efforts from the Laure sisters Eya and EJ.

Eya powered down a game-high 19 points off 16 attacks and 3 blocks, while EJ scored 15 with 11 excellent digs.

Eli Soyud led the losing cause with 18 points as Trisha Genesis and Faith Nisperos scored 15 apiece. – Rappler.com