No chemistry issues amid new acquisitions, says Choco Mucho coach

MANILA, Philippines -- Loaded with new talents, the Choco Mucho Flying Titans are seeing no problems regarding the chemistry of the team ahead of the upcoming Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season.

In the offseason, Choco Mucho signed new players Royse Tubino, Bia General, Mean Mendrez and Mars Alba.

Choco Mucho head coach Dante Alinsunurin said that he does not see any problems with the chemistry of the team.

“As of now, the new players are easy to get along with because before they signed with us, they were really willing to transfer to us,” Alinsunurin told reporters.

“They were easy to be with. Our preparation is good during training, so we were able to easily get to know them,” he added.

Coming from a runner-up finish in the past PVL conference, the Flying Titans will continue to bank on Sisi Rondina, Isa Molde, Maddie Madayag and Deanna Wong to try and go back to the finals.

Despite the additions to the team, they lost two longtime players in captain Bea de Leon and libero Denden Lazaro-Revilla.

Alinsunurin bared that the two players’ leadership will be missed on the court.

“That [leadership] is what the team needs, not just in training but also in games. Maybe slowly, that [need] will be filled by our players,” he said.

The new players will also give them a good rotation, the mentor underscored, which is important for a long PVL season.

“With how long our league is, we need to have rotations and substitutions for every position.”

Choco Mucho ended in second place in the past All-Filipino Conference with a 10-1 record.

They then met Creamline in the Finals, where they were swept in the best-of-three series.

Asked if there was pressure to become champion this season, Alinsunurin had a frank answer.

“That will not go away. But for me, what’s important in the coming conference is to maximize what our goal is, because we were already there. What’s important is we continue what we have been doing in training and whatever adjustments that we need to do.”

The new PVL season will commence on February 20.