MANILA, Philippines – In one of the most unlikely winning runs in Premier Volleyball League history, the Akari Chargers rolled to the 2024 Reinforced Conference top seed off a 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 rout of Farm Fresh, completing a stunning 8-0 elimination round sweep on Tuesday, August 20.
Akari became only the third club team in league history to sweep its preliminaries stint, joining established contenders Creamline (5 times) and Cignal (1 time). Prior to this eight-win elimination round, the Chargers’ previous all-time single-conference win record was just five.
Consistent import Oly Okaro led the record-setting win with 18 points, backstopped by 15 and 14, respectively, from Grethcel Soltones and Ivy Lacsina.
Captain setter Michelle Cobb, who has gone through the team’s few ups and numerous downs since its inception in 2022, steered the offense with 17 excellent sets and 6 points despite initially being tabbed questionable for the game due to sickness.
“I think personally, it’s a huge deal for us since I’ve experienced everything Akari has gone through from the start,” she said in Filipino. “I really saw the difference of our past teams compared to today. I’m just so proud because this is what the franchise really wants.”
“We haven’t achieved anything yet, but we’re getting there, and our run has been beautiful so far. We got here by helping one another and not make it a one-woman show,” Cobb added, as Akari continues to navigate through the mandated absences of Alas Pilipinas players Faith Nisperos and Fifi Sharma.
Import Yeny Murillo paced the loss with 14 points as Farm Fresh teeters with a 3-5 record, falling to a tussle for the eighth and final quarterfinal spot with struggling contender Choco Mucho (2-5). A win by the Flying Titans on Thursday, August 22, immediately puts them over the Foxies due to a superior tiebreaker quotient.
Cignal rolls to 2nd seed; playoff-bound Capital1 maintains momentum
Meanwhile, the Cignal HD Spikers settled at the second seed with a 7-1 record after dispatching the Nxled Chameleons, 27-25, 25-20, 25-20.
Import MJ Perez scored 17, three-time PVL Best Setter Gel Cayuna tossed 16 excellent sets, and former MVP Ces Molina tallied 11 points in the win that sent Nxled down a 1-7 record.
Meegan Hart paced the losing cause with 16 points, while veteran hitter Jho Maraguinot added 15 with 10 excellent receptions.
In the triple-header curtain-raiser, surging Capital1 capped off a breakout elimination round run with a four-set conquest of winless Galeries Tower, 25-13, 26-28, 25-22, 25-21, entering the playoffs with a 5-3 record – a massive leap from its previous all-time best of one win.
Possible runaway Best Import candidate and two-time PVL single-game scorer Marina Tushova added 35 more points to her name in the Solar Spikers’ win, as partner-in-crime playmaker Iris Tolenada recorded 24 excellent sets and 4 points.
Still awaiting the arrival of top rookie selection Julia Coronel, the Highrisers bowed out with a 0-8 record, tied with the Thea Gagate-less ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.
Sutadta Chuewulim scored 22 in the final defeat, while rookie Jewel Encarnacion reset her PVL career-high with 19 points and 17 excellent receptions off the bench. – Rappler.com