Akari shocks PLDT for historic PVL finals berth

MANILA, Philippines – In a matter of days, Taka Minowa and the Akari Chargers could end up the Cinderella story that they have created themselves in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

It came to fore after Akari stunned PLDT, 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 26-24, 17-15, at the Mall of Asia Arena Saturday to claim its first trip to the finals, where it hopes its fairy tale run will produce the one hardware it has originally set out for — a championship.

And the Chargers needed to fight back from so many deficits including a pair of championship points, the last one at 15-14, to complete the upset that booked the ambitious franchise its breakthrough seat in the knockout finale versus either Creamline or Cignal Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

There, Akari will get that one golden opportunity to crown itself champion, an ultimate goal it has set for itself when it joined the league two years ago.

But it wasn’t without controversy as PLDT was denied a challenge for a net touch by an Akari player when it led 14-13 in the fifth and final set.

Had match officials granted the challenge, it would have given PLDT the match-clinching point.

It wasn’t the case though as the point went to Akari instead to stay alive.

The Chargers then went on to take advantage of it as they took over from there while the High Speed Hitters looked unnerved following that errant Elena Samoilenko spike that hit nothing but net and hastened their downfall.

When it was over, Minowa, who was brought from sister team Nxled along with Kamille Cal and Ivy Lacsina before the conference even started, and the Chargers were in pandemonium.

American Oly Okaro went on a rampage with 39 points while Lacsina and Grethcel Soltones scattered 19 and 18 points apiece to power Akari to their 10th straight win in as many outings in the conference and closer to the promised land.

“Sa lahat ng five sets na nilaro namin, ito pinakamahirap at memorable,” said a gushing Lacsina.

For Soltones, the key was they never give up.

“During the game, sinasabi ko ke Ivy ikaw sa crucial point, ako bahala sa depensa. Kukamakapit din kami sa isa’t isa,” she said.

For Okaro, it was staying composed in the most crucial of times.

“I just tried to stay composed as much as possible. We knew what to do in the situation because we’ve been in this kind of situation before,” she said.

It was a heartbreaking ending for PLDT, which was seeking to make the finals and eventually win its first championship.

The High Speed Hitters came close to that.

It wasn’t meant to be though.