The Choco Mucho Flying Titans had an underwhelming, if not disappointing, 2024–25 PVL season. It isn’t surprising, then, that Ube Nation has revamped its lineup early ahead of the upcoming season, with the inimitable Eya Laure being the team’s most notable addition.
Choco Mucho started last season with a near-podium finish, losing to the Akari Chargers in the Battle for Third. But it was all downhill from that point on, with the Flying Titans crashing out to a tenth-place finish in the PVL On Tour and finishing ninth in the Reinforced Conference.
Choco Mucho Lets Go of Key Pieces
The Flying Titans’ less-than-stellar showing in two consecutive conferences likely prompted management to reassess the roster, and the first thing it did was let go of a few players. The casualties were Royse Tubino, Bia General, Cherry Nunag, and Aduke Agunsanya, all of whom the team released just before the New Year.
Curiously, Tubino and Nunag were Choco Mucho veterans who proved to be key pieces in the team’s first-ever podium finish in the PVL, during the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference, when the Flying Titans finished second to the Creamline Cool Smashers. That the franchise let go of solid players was the first clear sign that it meant business as far as shaking up the Choco Mucho roster was concerned.
Choco Mucho Beefs Up the Roster
Days later, it now makes sense why the Flying Titans let go of four veterans, as they signed four new players—Eya Laure, Jaila Atienza, Alina Bicar, and Caitlin Viray. Choco Mucho formally announced the signings on the team’s official social media pages, where it heralded that “a new era begins.”
Laure, of course, is the most notable of these new pieces. The former UST Golden Tigress is widely regarded as among the best players in Philippine women’s volleyball, and she will bring not only singular talent but also big-game gravitas. Viray, meanwhile, should be familiar to Choco Mucho fans, as she has previously played for the franchise. Bicar and Atienza, on the other hand, bring rising talent to Choco Mucho and could be key players for the future.
Return of the MVP
But there’s even more reason for Choco Mucho fans to be excited. Aside from bringing in new talent, Ube Nation will also see the return of former PVL MVP Sisi Rondina, who took a leave of absence to focus on representing the country in beach volleyball at the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December 2025 (she won gold with partner Bernadeth Pons).
The duo of former UST stalwarts Rondina and Eya Laure, in particular, is something Choco Mucho fans will surely look forward to and should provide the franchise with plenty of firepower. And, together with holdovers Maddie Madayag, Kat Tolentino, Des Cheng, Isa Molde, Deanna Wong, and Tia Andaya, Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina might have a roster that should be, at least on paper, considered among the early title favorites for the upcoming PVL season.
