The coach, nonetheless, continues to preach about trusting the process.
After a strong opener that saw them defeat the Akari Chargers in straight sets, the Choco Mucho Flying Titans ushered the Dante Alinsunurin era in high spirits. Only to come back to earth in their second outing—and in a much-hyped game, no less.
On Thursday, Coach Dante’s squad bowed down to the Petro Gazz Angels, a team coached by Oliver Almadro, the former Flying Titans mentor.
Alinsunurin admitted there was extra motivation for the volleybelles of Choco Mucho to get a win against their former coach, and when they failed, the team felt it.
“Una, siyempre, malungkot dahil sa pagkatalo,” said Alinsunurin.
But the team was quick to snap out of it. Alinsunurin said it’s helpful that the team is aligned on where they are as a group. And right now, they are trusting the process, a mantra he has preached even before the season began.
“Alam naman namin na hindi naman kami nagmamadali,” he added.
The mentor, instead, pointed out the team’s areas for improvement: service and reception. Alinsunurin said underperformance in these two areas easily snowballs into bigger problems for the Flying Titans.
“Kaya 'yung gusto namin mangyari sa loob ng court hindi namin magawa dahil sa sobrang baba ng porsyento sa serve namin and sa receive namin.”
Despite the sorry loss against the Angels, Alinsunurin is unfazed. Still, he maintains that the team should vie to be always consistent so they can grow as the season goes on.
Choco Mucho will next face its sister team and defending All-Filipino champion Creamline Cool Smashers. Alinsunurin will also meet another respected tactician in coach Sherwin Meneses. Rightfully so, they have already done their homework.
“Nag-scout na kami sa laro nila [para] makita namin ano magiging mga weaknesses nila, saan kami makakalamang.”