Akari nails first victory, stretches Army woes

Akari’s Dindin Santiago-Manabat. PVL PHOTO

Dindin Santiago-Manabat knew a win was coming for Akari.

It wasn’t really because the Chargers were facing an Army-Black Mamba squad that has struggled to get a win in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).

“We already felt [we would win] because in each of our games, we keep telling ourselves that as long as we win one set, [we] will keep [the momentum] going,” Manabat said.

Indeed, Akari held off Army-Black Mamba, 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, in the All-Filipino Conference at PhilSports Arena on Tuesday, with Manabat leading the way with a game-high 23 points.

“We knew, as a team, we’ll wake up when we get a set and [momentum] just keeps going,” said Manabat after the Chargers finally broke into the win column.

“Well, congrats to my players for our first win. We keep on trying every single day to really train and I’m happy for them and I’m really grateful because we’re performing well,” said Akari head coach Jorge Souza de Brito.

Army fell to 0-3 for the tournament and has now lost 16 straight games dating back to last year’s Invitational Conference.

The Chargers actually had a chance to sweep the Lady Troopers, but Jane Gonzales broke a deadlock at 23 to put Army at set point before an error by Akari’s Erika Raagas extended the match to a fourth set.

Akari was ahead by only a point, 18-17, late in the fourth set before scoring seven of the next nine points to seal the win and end its conference slump.

“We are always trying our best and I’m sure that we can bring more surprises like last year,” added De Brito.

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