Chargers shock PLDT in bronze medal thriller

In a bronze medal match played with the ferocity and desperation of a championship duel, Akari clawed its way to a 15-25, 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 20-18 victory in a wild, breathless finish that left the Araneta Coliseum crowd stunned into silence before erupting into disbelief.

What was supposed to be a battle for third place in the PVL Reinforced Conference unfurled into an instant classic — an epic, frenzied, grueling two-hour, 24-minute five-setter that begged for more.

Annie Mitchem embodied grit and defiance, dropping a monstrous 36-point explosion while dragging the Chargers back from the brink time and again. When the momentum swung violently and the match seemed to teeter out of reach, Mitchem kept Akari afloat, willing her team — and the game — into one of the most improbable comebacks the league has seen.

Yet it was Ced Domingo and Eli Soyud who delivered in the clutch. After Akari survived the last of several PLDT bronze-medal points courtesy of a costly Jovie Prado service error, Domingo stepped to the line and fired a serve that Savi Davison mishandled, the ball skidding out of bounds.

Advantage, Akari.

PLDT steadied its reception in the next sequence, but the High Speed Hitters simply couldn’t finish. Nastya Bavykina fired twice, and twice the Chargers’ defense stood firm. The tension hit a fever pitch. Grethcel Soltones hammered through the block, only for the ball to ricochet awkwardly. She scrambled. Mars Alba sprawled out to chase it, flinging the ball toward Soyud, who had struggled all match, but in that split second, refused to hesitate.

She nudged the ball forward in a desperate, devil-may-care push. It clipped the net. Time slowed. The ball trickled over and plummeted untouched onto PLDT’s floor. Bavykina lunged — but too late.

A gasp. A roar.

Match point — Akari. And suddenly, the bronze that once seemed securely in PLDT’s hands slipped through their fingers.

The Chargers had been battered early, surrendering Set 1 in lopsided fashion. They clawed back to steal the second, faltered in the third, and then fell behind by 10 in the fourth — seemingly destined for a four-set defeat. But at 8–18, with the High Speed Hitters on the cusp of closing it out, Akari erupted.

Mitchem launched hit after hit as PLDT’s offense went tentative, the High Speed Hitters’ once-sturdy defense dissolving. Soltones and Fifi Sharma fought tooth and nail, hammering clutch attacks and erecting impregnable blocks. Sharma’s denial of Bavykina forced a 24-all count; her second rejection — again on the PLDT import — gave the Chargers the lead they never relinquished to force a decider.

And what a decider it was.

Twelve deadlocks. Five lead changes. Every rally a test of nerve, willpower, and heart. Momentum swung like a pendulum — no team able to land the killing blow, every point met with a counterpunch. When Bavykina scored twice to push PLDT ahead, 18–17, redemption suddenly seemed within reach for the shaken High Speed Hitters.

But Prado’s mis-serve cracked open the door.

Domingo kicked it wide open.

Soyud slammed it shut.

“This is one of the best games for the bronze battle,” said Mitchem, who also delivered 12 excellent receptions. “It was super tight the whole time. I’m so glad we could win. We were literally on the edge of our seats the whole time — that was really exciting.”

She added, “Playing with these girls… I’ve had the best time. This is one of my favorite seasons, and I’m just happy to be here.”

Soltones finished with 14 points and laced her stellar play with 10 digs and 13 receptions. Domingo scored nine, and Sharma and Soyud added eight and six points, respectively.

Alba also stood out with 22 excellent sets, outdueling counterpart Kim Fajardo, who tallied 20. On defense, Justine Jazareno anchored the Chargers with 23 excellent digs.

PLDT libero Kath Arado posted a game-high 27 digs, but the High Speed Hitters couldn’t deliver when it mattered most. Davison erupted for 30 points, Bavykina contributed 27, and Dell Palomata scored 11. However, the High Speed Hitters failed to capitalize on their supposed edge at the net, managing only eight blocks — just one more than Akari.

“With that match, everybody doubted us,” said Akari coach Tina Salak. “Even in the fourth set… even ourselves, we doubted ourselves sa fourth set na ‘yun. We didn’t realize na holding on together is the best thing we can possibly do to win this bronze medal.”

“But still, ‘yun nga, marami akong nakita with my team, doon sa lineup namin, marami tayong natutunan, and also marami akong nakita rin na puwede natin baguhin and i-improve — not actually baguhin, but i-improve,” she added.

Akari celebrated its bronze like a championship — because to the Chargers, it was. A year removed from a silver finish, they survived a gauntlet of setbacks and delivered a performance defined not by the medal’s color, but by the magnitude of their heart.

PLDT, meanwhile, saw a brilliant season end in heartbreak. After sweeping the On Tour and Invitational tournaments with a spotless 15–0 record, the High Speed Hitters collapsed under the weight of semifinal disappointment and a fourth-set complacency they paid for dearly.

A campaign full of promise met a cruel ending — one made even harsher by the way victory slipped away.

In the end, the bronze medal match felt every bit like a gold medal war — chaotic, exhausting, unforgettable.