Following a disappointing opening day loss, the Creamline Cool Smashers made short work of the Tacloban Fighting Warays, 25-15, 25-21, 25-15, in the PVL Open Conference at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The Cool Smashers leaned on ace Alyssa Valdez, who delivered 20 points on a scorching 15-for-37 clip. The four-time league MVP added eight digs and 12 excellent receptions.
Valdez acknowledged the opening day loss as a learning experience.
“It was disappointing talaga for us kasi we’ve been training hard for so long din, kahit may injuries pa kami,” said the Batangueña. “We wanted to work on the things we lacked talaga. We’re happy with how we played today and we hope na we can continue.”
The Cool Smashers struggled in each of the last two sets before cruising to the win. Creamline erased a 13-16 deficit in the second frame before turning a 13-all tie in the final set into a 22-14 lead.
Risa Sato added nine points for Creamline, who were still without starting libero Melissa Gohing (throat infection), Rose Vargas (achilles tear), and Pau Soriano (hand).
Tacloban had no players in double-digits, with Jovie Prado and Heather Guino-O each managing seven markers.
Creamline (1-1) take on the Iriga-Navy Oragons (0-4) on Saturday at the same venue. The Warays (2-2) face the BanKo-Perlas Spikers (2-0) next Wednesday also at the same venue.
The Scores
Creamline (3) – Valdez 20, Sato 9, Mandapat 7, Gumavao 6, Bravo 4, Mandapat 4, Cayetano 2, Cabanos 0, Atienza (L)
Tacloban (0) – Guino-O 7, Prado 7, Esguerra 3, Marzan 3, Abil 2, Negrito 2, Tubiera 2, Alvarez 0, Guillema 0, Galang (L)
