Bannered by two Filipina imports, top scorer Mylene Paat and debuting Dindin Santiago-Manabat provided clutch hits en route to their first win in the second round.

Paat top-scored the Cat Devils with game-high 24 points, including an 11-point eruption in the second set, while Manabat chipped in 12 points in her first game in the league. 

“Magtatagpo din kami. Sorry na po, nag-aadjust pa ako two days pa lang kaming nagtraining. Magkoconnect pa kami. Sorry na agad agad,” Manabat tweeted moments after the match, acknowledging her lapses.

Nakhon Ratchasima easily captured the first and second sets but in the third set, the Nakornnont squad engaged differently as it kept in step with Nakhon Ratchasima majority of the period.

Tied at 18 points, Manabat nailed back-to-back kills to open a 20-19 Nakhon Ratchasima advantage which grew to 22-19 following two consecutive errors from Nakornnont (two double contacts, one net violation, and one miscommunication).

Paat then scored her own attack followed by another miscue from their foes to take Nakhon Ratchasima to match point, 24-21, then eventually drilled another spike to seal the win, ​​25-22.

The Cat Devil remained in fourth place with a 5-4 record and redeemed their three-set loss against KhonKaen Star last week, while Nakornnont slid to 4-6 in the fifth place.

Paat and Manabat look forward to staying in the win column as they face second-ranked Diamond Food on Wednesday, 3:30 pm (Manila time).