Choco Mucho loses star players suiting up for Asian Games in Japan

THE CHOCO MUCHO Flying Titans have been playing with one leg minus its biggest star in Sisi Rondina.

And with the prolific and energetic Ms. Rondina out again to focus on her preparation for this September’s Asian Games beach volleyball in Aichi, Japan, the biscuit franchise will have to find ways to plug that gaping hole.

But Ms. Rondina will not be the only player missing.

In fact, setter Tia Andaya had already left for good while it could also be without Eya Laure and Dawn Catindig if they would be given the green light by the club to suit up for Alas Pilipinas also in Aichi.

That is the reason Choco Mucho is digging deep to its weakened arsenal and should rely mostly on the battle-scarred core of Deanna Wong, Thang Ponce, Dindin Manabat, Isa Molde, Maddie Madayag, Desiree Cheng, Kat Tolentino, Mary Anne Mendrez and Caitlin Viray.

It also picked up several new acquisitions in Tin Ubaldo, a setter tabbed for this year’s Rookie Draft, Ivy Perez, a veteran setter, and Jewel Encarnacion, a spiker formerly of Cignal.

Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin has high hopes they would get out of the rot after placing 10^th, ninth and seventh in their last three conferences where they mightily struggled.

The Flying Titans’ goal, of course, is to get back to the finals, which they did twice in a row during the two All-Filipino Conferences bridging 2023 and 2024 with Ms. Rondina at the helm.

The road to glory should be tough but for Choco Mucho, it isn’t impossible, if it could find the solution to the Ms. Rondina riddle. — Joey Villar