“Enjoy the Moment and Give Our All”: Akari Chargers’ Final PVL Push
The Akari Chargers (AKA) enter their third semi-final contest with only hope in their back pocket. Unfortunately, a win doesn’t guarantee a PVL All-Filipino Conference finals ticket, but the outcome of the succeeding match.
Routing the Choco Mucho Flying Titans (CMFT) in five sets, though dropping to the Creamline Coolsmashers (CCS) in three, Akari takes on the Van Sickle-Phillips-Pablo Petro Gazz Angels (PGA) trio—combining for 44 points in their previous victory. Orchestrating closely knit sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-19), Akari’s Eli Soyud led the squad in points (11), converting eight spikes and three blocks. Faith Nisperos chipped in seven, Ced Domingo provided six, and the league’s fifth-best scorer, Ivy Lacsina, poured in eight.
Akari Libero Dani Ravena speaks on her team’s mindset with their season hanging in the balance. The final four of the tournament features a single round-robin format, with the top two advancing to the finale.
“Our mindset is to really just enjoy the moment and give our all,” Akari’s Ravena tells ALL-STAR Magazine.
“Although we may not be certain if we can still qualify for the finals, as long as we do our best in our game, we’ll just let God handle the rest,” she continued.
As their highest placement following their 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference Runner-up finish, they leave everything on the court regardless of the outcome. PGA is the sole undefeated team (2-0, 6 points), followed by CCS (1-1, 3 points), AKA (1-1, 2 points), and CMFT (0-2, 1 point). A win versus PGA, guarantees AKA either a finals berth or an additional date with PGA or CCS.
“Since this is the first time we reached the top 4 ranking in the All-Filipino Conference, every game is a learning opportunity not just for the team but for us individually as players,” she added.
READ ALSO: She Means Business
