Choco Mucho's Kat Tolentino paid homage to injured team captain and middle blocker Maddie Madayag during the 2021 PVL Open Conference awarding ceremonies at the PCV Socio-Civic & Cultural Center in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte Friday, Aug. 13.
Tolentino, who was seen wearing Madayag's No. 7 jersey when she received the Best Opposite Spiker Award, met Conference and Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awardee Jaja Santiago of Chery Tiggo with a high five as the top players lined up for a photo opportunity.
Sports content creator Puso Pilipinas, who is also responsible for airing PVL live streams, also took notice of the light moment between Tolentino and Santiago.
Choco Mucho earlier confirmed that Madayag suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on her left knee.
In the battle for third against Petro Gazz, Madayag hurt her left knee after an awkward landing midway in the fourth set of Game 1 as Ria Meneses scored off a block point.
The 5-foot-11 skipper cried in pain when brought out of the court with a wheelchair and a knee brace.
She was reportedly taken to the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac, some 25 kilometers away from the venue for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
Seeded at No. 3 heading into the semifinals, the Flying Titans lost the match and the best-of-three series to settle at fourth place.