Deanna Wong's presence was immediately felt as she led Choco Mucho's five-set comeback win against ZUS Coffee in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Deanna Wong marked her return from injury on a solid note as she led the Choco Mucho Flying Titans to a five-set comeback against the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, 20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-9, in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Saturday, January 18.
Wong came off the bench and led the Flying Titans’ comeback bid after going down 0-2 in the match. She finished with 10 excellent sets and seven points to give Choco Mucho its fourth win in the conference.
The star setter admitted some nerves kicked in during her first game back after dealing with a knee injury, which forced her to sit out for almost five months.
Wong last played on August 22, 2024 during Choco Mucho's match versus the PLDT High Speed Hitters in the 2024 Reinforced Conference.
Still, the 26-year-old banked on her familiarity with her teammates to get the much-needed win to start 2025.
“Medyo kabado, nilalamig po ako kanina. Kung ano pong ibigay na role nila coach, tiwala lang. Pinagt-training namin sa practice,” Wong said during the post-game press conference.
“Siguro nung una nag-alalay pa pero I think also it’s because matagal na kasi kami magkasama so kahit nawala ako ng ganun katagal, nababalik din naman pagbalik ko sa training so hindi ganun kahirap,” she added.
It's been an up-and-down campaign for Choco Mucho so far in the All-Filipino Conference, but the Flying Titans are hoping to put together a winning streak to further move up the standings with Wong back in the lineup.
“I think it’s normal for a team to have their ups and downs. Lahat kami naging patient. It came to a point na parang we needed to regroup and we needed talk to each other, so ‘yun ginawa namin,” said Wong.
“Paunti-onti nababalik namin ‘yung galaw namin as a team. Alam namin sa sarili na sa amin ‘yung problem so kami din makakapag-solusyon dun.”
Benefiting from Wong’s sets were Sisi Rondina and Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who had 25 and 19 markers, respectively.
Isa Molde contributed 13 points and 11 excellent digs, while Lorraine Pecana had a career-high 11 points.
Chai Troncoso paced ZUS Coffee with 17 points as Gayle Pascual and Thea Gagate put up 15 and 14 in the loss, respectively.
Choco Mucho will be back on Thursday, January 23 as they face the PLDT High Speed Hitters at the PhilSports Arena.