The Creamline Cool Smashers continued to surge through the 2019 PVL Open Conference, booting the PacificTown-Army Lady Troopers out of the Final Four picture in a lopsided manner, 25-15, 25-18, 25-22, Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Even without Alyssa Valdez for the second straight game, the reigning champions did not lose a step. This time, though, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao weren’t the only ones scintillating for the pink-and-white.
Leaning on a balanced offensive thrust, the Cool Smashers stretched their unbeaten streak to 14 — two games away from sweeping the elimination round.
“Every game, doon namin makikita ‘yung improvement ng bawat isa tsaka nung team. Dagdag morale din sa amin ‘yun every game, lalo pa’t nananalo kami, lesson ‘pag may mga mistake,” bared Galanza, who continued to be a steady source of offensive wealth for the Cool Smashers with 11 markers.
Risa Sato spearheaded Creamline’s charge, pouring in 12 points built on nine attacks and three kill blocks. Rosemarie Vargas mustered a double-double outing of 10 points and 15 excellent receptions. Meanwhile, Gumabao and Ced Domingo chipped in eight markers apiece.
Creamline playmaker Jia Morado delivered 15 excellent sets for the Cool Smashers, who rained down 40 attacks. Defensive stalwart Kyla Atienza manned the floor with 12 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions.
“I think the goal of the team is really to get one game at a time and to win every single game na malalaro namin. Going to the semifinals and finals, it’s really helpful for the team, lalo na nga maraming nakakalaro, so the confidence of each and everyone very crucial pagdating ng semifinals,” added Valdez, who remained on the sidelines due to a minor foot injury.
The Lady Troopers, on the other hand, bid their playoff chances goodbye after they dropped all of their four previous matches, falling to 6-8.
Honey Royse Tubino topscored with 13 points anchored in 10 spikes and three rejections. She also collected eight excellent digs and six excellent receptions that all went down the drain. Ging Balse-Pabayo and Jovelyn Gonzaga each managed seven markers in a losing cause.
The Cool Smashers will try to step closer to a perfect run through eliminations against the BanKo Perlas Spikers on Sunday, October 20. Meanwhile, the Lady Troopers look to bounce back against Motolite on Saturday, October 19.
