Creamline’s fourth set mishap against F2 Logistics proved to be the wakeup call that the team needed to secure its first win in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference on Thursday night.
“It was a really good wake-up call. At least hindi rin kami kinapos, so we’re very, very grateful for that,” said Valdez after the thrilling five-set affair.
After falling to a 1-2 deficit against the Cargo Movers, the Cool Smashers were quick to bounce back and established a huge 20-10 advantage in the fourth set, aiming to force the game into a fifth set.
However, F2 Logistics uncorked a massive run that put Creamline’s comeback attempt in peril.
Led by Myla Pablo, Jolina Dela Cruz, and Ivy Lacsina, the Cargo Movers forced five deuces in the extended fourth frame before the Rebisco-backed squad finally got its act together, with Ced Domingo and Jema Galanza unleashing the crucial hits that forced a decider.
With their heads finally straight, the Cool Smashers kick-started the fifth set with a blistering 9-1 rally that eventually drained the fight out of F2 Logistics en route to a 12-25, 25-13, 23-25, 30-28, 15-7 win at the Philsports Arena.
“Well, it was really shocking din kasi mahaba na rin talaga yung lamang and we really want to close it out as fast as we can kasi we wanted to extend the game. We all know na yung F2 talaga, they have a system also na hindi sila easily magle-let go ng game,” said Valdez, who finished with 17 points in the win.
“So pinaguusapan lang namin na we did this. We let them reach our point or they reached the number na nakukuha namin so we have to keep fighting. Talagang at least bumalik din yung mindset namin towards sa latter part na one point at a time is the mindset that we want para pagdating din ng fifth set, yun din lang yung iisipin namin,” she continued.
Despite taking home a hard-fought win that put them up 2-0 in the round-robin semifinals, Valdez and the rest of the Cool Smashers are not resting on their laurels just yet as they prepare for their upcoming assignments, which include foreign squads Kurashiki Ablaze of Japan and Kinh Bắc Bắc Ninh of Vietnam.
“We’re very grateful. I think every win in the semifinals is very important for us to reach our goal, but after today, we have to set our minds pa rin sa ano yung mga next few games pa,” said Valdez.
“So we’re just very, very happy na this is our very first five-setter game. We hope we learn so much here, and we hope na marami kaming maiuwing learnings and maiuwing kailangan naming ayusin para sa mga next games pa namin in the semifinals.”
