Eya Laure of Choco Mucho attacks against Galeries Tower in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference, February 26, 2026 at the FilOil Centre in San Juan. PVL Media
MANILA -- Choco Mucho finally returned to the win column after a thrilling five-set victory over Galeries Tower, Thursday evening at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The Flying Titans had to overhaul a one-set deficit on their way to a 26-24, 20-25, 22-25, 25-13, 15-12 win -- only their second victory in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
Eya Laure's return to action sparked Choco Mucho, as the prolific open spiker came off the bench in the second set and finished with 18 points on 14 kills. Sisi Rondina matched her output, while rookie middle blocker Lorraine Pecana earned Player of the Match honors after scoring 15 points, including five kill blocks.
The hard-earned result snapped a three-game slide for the Flying Titans, who improved to 2-3 in the tournament. The Highrisers, meanwhile, failed to build on an upset of Nxled in their previous match and dropped to 2-3.
The Highrisers appeared headed for victory after securing a 2-1 advantage, fending off Choco Mucho's late charge in the third set for a 25-22 scoreline. Jean Asis and Erika Deloria came up clutch in the closing stretch, scoring back-to-back points to deny the Flying Titans' comeback.
But Laure was unstoppable in the fourth set, wherein Choco Mucho had a massive 14-5 advantage in attacks while also scoring five points off their serve to send the match to a decider.
Galeries Tower surged to an 8-5 lead in the third set off a massive hit by Asis in the middle. But their errors allowed Choco Mucho to work their way back, setting the stage for a tight endgame.
A crafty drop shot by Deloria knotted the count for the final time at 12, but she followed it up with a poor serve that gave Choco Mucho the lead for good, 13-12. A Rondina crosscourt put the Flying Titans at match point, and the match ended when Choco Mucho successfully challenged for a net fault in the ensuing rally.
Deloria had 19 points and Asis finished with 15 markers -- including five kill blocks -- for the Highrisers. They had a 13-9 advantage in rejections, but Choco Mucho made up for it on offense, as they tallied 66 kills to 50 for the Highrisers.