Ding Ding Santiago Manabat of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans plays in the PVL Reinforced Conference. – MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
DingDing Santiago Manabat’s move to Choco Mucho was riddled with controversy, but the Flying Titans’ rocky start in the PVL Recruit Conference helped solidify her surprise move.
“I have no doubt [my decision to transfer]”We’re in a tough spot,” Santiago Manabat said in Filipino late Tuesday after the Flying Titans suffered a shocking back-to-back defeat to his former team, Akari, 18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-13 in the reinforcement conference.
The veteran hitter’s move was capped by a trade between sister teams Acalli and NextRed that saw Santiago Manabat sent to the Chameleons, but as previously reported by The Inquirer, PVL president Ricky Palou said he was not in favor of the trade.
Apparently, neither did the former National U superstar as she asked to terminate her contract with the franchise and move to another club, which turned out to be Choco Mucho.
“I am happy to be part of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans. They welcomed me warmly and all my teammates are very positive so I don’t regret choosing them,” said Santiago Manabat.
“No matter what happened today (Tuesday) and in the past game (the complete loss to Signal), [the Flying Titans] “But it was still very positive,” she added. “So, to me, whatever happens with the team right now, maybe we should just learn something: You can’t always be on top.”
Santiago Manabat also said he parted ways with Akali on good terms and there were few hard feelings when he came face to face with his former teammate.
“I’m happy to be playing [Akari]My brother-in-law (Takashi Minowa) is the coach, so I know they have a lot of adjustments to make… I don’t feel any anger towards them. [the Chargers] They were all my family and friends,” she said.
“We may not have gotten the result we wanted, but I’m happy to play against them. It was a friendly game. There’s no grudge or anger. Whatever my performance was today, it was for Choco Mucho,” added Santiago Manabat, who led the Flying Titans with 16 points in the loss to the Chargers.
A stable competitor
Choco Mucho has consistently emerged as a favorite to win the past two All-Filipino Conferences, facing off against sister team Cream Line in the finals of those tournaments but sadly finishing as runners-up.
The absence of key players CiCi Rondina and Cherry Nunag, who are on national team duty at the Alas Pilipinas training camp in Japan, comes as a big blow to the remaining Flying Titans roster, who are still building ties with Santiago Manabato and other free agents.
Greek signing Zoi Faki was also a disappointment in his PVL debut and has yet to make his presence felt.
“We need to work for what we have. [Choco Mucho] “We’ve made it to the quarterfinals but the challenges don’t end there,” Santiago Manabat said. “Every day there are challenges we have to overcome.”
Meanwhile, the league postponed Thursday’s matches due to bad weather caused by Super Typhoon Karina (international name: Gaemi) and the southwest monsoon.
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Pool A matches between Farmfresh (0-2) and PLDT (2-0), Creamline and Nxled (both 1-1), and Galleries Towers (0-2) and Cherry Tigo (2-0) have been rescheduled for a later date, with the league exploring the possibility of scheduling a four-match schedule to accommodate the matches.
