The Akari Chargers are enjoying tons of momentum after sweeping Pool B of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference.
It’s official: the Akari Chargers are the PVL Reinforced Conference’s hottest team right now.
After beating the Cignal HD Spikers on Tuesday, the Chargers conclude their Pool B run with a 5-0 record for their best start since joining the PVL two years ago. At the same time, win number five also matches the franchise-high in victories.
Simply put, this is a culmination of the team’s continued jelling. After dealing with a lack of preseason buildup, Akari has improved into a more cohesive unit early into the conference.
“There wasn’t a lot of communication [early into the conference], there was a lot of confusion on the court. You could tell there was so much potential, but it was also a bit chaotic,” recalled Akari import Oly Okaro, who scored 24 points against Cignal.
It’s easy to see the Akari Chargers’ upside. Alongside sound victories were back-to-back reverse sweeps over the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, and the Petro Gazz Angels. The Angels paraded an intact core following an All-Filipino Conference semis appearance.
“So, now, just with more trainings and just having more playing time together. More experience as a team. I feel like we’re more cohesive. So we just gel a lot better on the court…it allows the game to be a little bit smoother at times.”
There’s also the major additions Akari received in the offseason. In a controversial sister team transaction, the Chargers received head coach Taka Minowa from NXLed, alongside players in Ivy Lacsina, Kamuy Cal, Dani Ravena, and Cams Victoria.
Holdover Celine Domingo was first to laud their impact, saying: “Very big help talaga sila in this new Akari team. Ayun, ‘yun ‘yung mga…I guess major changes na nangyari. And kita naman na it’s really working. And everyone is trusting the system.”
“Every game, lahat kami, like all the players are really evolving and trusting the system of Coach Taka. So it’s a good sign going to the next round,” Domingo said earlier.
Lacsina also cited coach Taka’s system as a major reason behind Akari’s electric start, describing it as a philosophy that allows both individual and team-based growth.
“And ayun, hindi pa namin gaano kamemorize ‘yung system pero hindi naman nagsasawa si coach Taka ituro kung ano ‘yung sistema dapat,” said Lacsina, a key cog herself in this rejigged Akari crew.
No room for complacency
Despite the Akari Chargers’ start, there’s still work to be done for this team. Against Cignal, the Chargers dropped the opening set 15-25, before proceeding to win the next three.
“If we keep on doing that, for sure it’s like…we’ll just make it a high-intensity game. Because we can win 3-0, but we lost the first set so extra 30 minutes,” said coach Taka.
Okaro, meanwhile, is glad to see their dedication paying off. But like her coach, the import knows that the job is far from finished.
“I know that there’s still so many things that I can work on and that the team can work on. Because just moving forward, like Coach Taka said…you know, we’re not going to have a lot of time in between to work on stuff,” she said.
Up next for the Reinforced Conference will be the second round of pool play, with Akari set to face Group A’s bottom three teams.
Coach Taka himself was first to warn against complacency, saying: “Bottom three team and top three team. I think for me, it’s almost same. We have to prepare well. Because if it’s going to be close against a bottom three team. We’re just losing our opportunity.”
Banner Image courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.
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