Choco Mucho rode on the hot hands of Kat Tolentino as it eked out a hard-fought 27-29, 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 15-12 victory over Galeries Tower on Thursday, Nov. 14, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The hard-hitting Tolentino was unstoppable on all fronts, erupting with 27 points built on 20 kills and seven blocks to power the Flying Titans to their first victory in two starts.

It was a morale-boosting triumph for Choco Mucho, who stumbled in its opening-day assignment against Petro Gazz in four sets.

Reflecting on her standout performance, Tolentino said, “I feel tired but happy to be back helping the team. We just trusted each other and kept fighting.”

Equally scintillating was high-flying Sisi Rondina, who also carried the cudgels for the Flying Titans by firing all her 19 points on attacks.

Cherry Nunag also shone with 14 points while rookie Lorraine Pecana, a former Arellano University standout, made her presence felt with 10 points including seven blocks.

Choco Mucho is still finding their rhythm and groove, but as Tolentino put it: “This is just the beginning. We have so much to give, and we're going to keep working hard.”

The Flying Titans banked on their rock-solid defense by making 22 blocks including 14 from Tolentino and Pecana alone, to stop the Highrisers offensive assault spearheaded by Jewel Encarnacion and Ysa Jimenez.

It also somehow made up for the 30 points they gave up on unforced errors.

Encarnacion and Jimenez scored 18 and 13 points for Galeries Tower, which absorbed its second defeat in as many outings after bowing to Akari in four sets on opening day.

In the other game, Akari banked on Ivy Lacsina and CJ Soyud as it edged ZUS Coffee, 25-14, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, for the early solo lead at 2-0.

Lacsina and Soyud conspired for 36 kills to finish with 24 and 15 points, respectively, for the Chargers, who followed up their four-set opening-day victory to the Highrisers.

The Thunderbelles, however, absorbed their first loss despite top rookie draft pick Thea Gagate scoring 13 points, and Michelle Gamit and Kate Santiago posting 12 points apiece.