A heavily-depleted roster proved too much of an ordeal for Choco Mucho to overcome as it failed to reach the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference playoffs.

From back-to-back finals appearances, it was a gut-wrenching 25-21, 18-25, 16-25, 19-25 loss to PLDT and a squandered lead in its must-win pool play finale that dealt the final blow to the Flying Titans’ last-gasp quarterfinals bid.

And it all had to unravel in the absence of head coach Dante Alinsunurin (Alas Pilipinas), guest import Zoi Faki (illness), the national team duo of former PVL MVP Sisi Rondina and Cherry Nunag, and the injured pair of Des Cheng and Aduke Ogunsanya.

Kat Tolentino, another player who missed a chunk of games this conference, knows all about the frustration of sitting idly as they lost one game after another, but for her there’s still plenty of positives to take from a dismal two-win campaign.

“Our team always comes across a lot of adversities that we just continue to fight each game. I know that we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but I think it’s just a lesson for us,” Tolentino told SPIN.ph.

As painful as this season’s results were as they missed out on a quarterfinals spot by finishing ninth, Tolentino knows this isn’t the end of the road for them.

She understands that there will come a time where they’d have to deal with situations beyond their control, and all they can do now is use this heartbreak as a point of improvement moving forward.

“I mean, you don’t win every conference. You don’t get what you want every time. And we just have to learn as a team to be patient and understand that this is a way for us to grow,” she stated.

“If we can take that into the next conference, then this will be more of a way for us to grow.”