CHOCO Mucho pioneer member Maddie Madayag knows an uphill battle awaits the Flying Titans as they need to conquer Creamline and PLDT in their remaining games of the 2026-27 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference–Siklab Series.
Choco Mucho sits in third place with a 3-3 record, tied with Akari and trailing Nxled (5-0) and Creamline (4-1).
In a crucial match, the Flying Titans fell to the Akari in a grueling five-set match, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 16-14, on Saturday that positioned the team to lethal position from falling out from the last four. A win would have improved their record to 4-2 and strengthened their bid, but the loss left them with more pressure heading into a tougher stretch of the schedule.
Madayag, who finished with eight points, admitted the defeat was difficult to accept.
“I don’t know at this point; the standings are so close that we really need to ... We should have won this game, but Akari just showed they wanted it more. It’s unfortunate because we had so many weapons and we weren’t able to show them,” she said.
“But there’s nothing we can do ... it’s tiring. Well, I guess we just have to bounce back next game, and it’s against Creamline too.”
Madayag also acknowledged that the recent losses have weighed heavily on the team.
“The losses are very degrading, but that’s just part of the game. It’s part of being a professional athlete, you win and you lose. It really comes down to how we, as a team, handle the loss and bounce back from it.
“I think we just need a day to recover and reflect on what went wrong and how we can make it better. But again, we have to face Creamline once more.”
With a tough slate remaining against the 11-time champions Creamline and a dangerous PLDT side powered by Savi Davison, Madayag emphasized that both upcoming matches are must-wins.
“It’s a must-win game, both games are must-wins for us. I think we have to give everything we’ve got, and we have no choice but to win if we still want to play in the next round.”
