After two straight top-three finishes, Akari is in another coaching change, this time, handing the Chargers to former national team ace Tina Salak in hopes that she has the answers needed to make the franchise win its first PVL title.

This development was revealed to the Inquirer by a very reliable source, as the team parts ways with Japanese coach Takayuki Minowa, the man who guided the Chargers to their best finish, a silver behind powerhouse Creamline in the All-Filipino Conference last year.

“Two of them will stay, [Salak] aside from coach Vince [Mangulabnan],” said the source.

Salak, a brilliant setter in her collegiate days while leading Far Eastern University to UAAP titles, thus becomes the fourth coach to handle the Chargers after Jorge Edson Souza de Brito, Raffy Mosuela and Minowa, which speaks volumes how eager the franchise is to finally win the big one.

Minowa to Europe?

The decision to promote Salak to the top could have also been influenced by what the source said was the plan of Minowa to join wife, Jaja Santiago, in Europe, when the prolific hitter, after years of playing in Japan, is rumored to be playing next.

This will undoubtedly be the biggest break—and challenge—in Salak’s career as she has a lot of tools at Akari which she can use to make the Chargers contend heavily for a title.

The team is stacked with offensive talents like Ivy Lacsina, Eli Soyud, Grethcel Soltones, Faith Nisperos, Fifi Sharma and Ced Domingo and was deemed capable of going all the way after that second-place finish to the Cool Smashers.

Minowa made the Chargers improve tremendously, with Soyud being named the Most Improved Player of the last All-Filipino Conference while also getting an invite to try out for a spot in the Alas Pilipinas squad that will see action in the next Asian Volleyball Confederation tournament.

The next PVL conference rolls around next month, with Petro Gazz and Creamline still the favorites because of their intact rosters. INQ