Everything Creamline needed in Game One, they made up for in Game Two which allowed them to force a rubber match in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference finals, Tuesday night.
Cool Smashers setter Jia De Guzman said that the team lacked communication, support, and execution in their 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 24-26 loss to Petro Gazz in the opener but managed to fix all that during their one-day break yesterday.
As a result, the Rebisco-backed squad survived the gritty Angels in Game Two after five grueling sets, 18-25, 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 15-6, to keep their two-peat hopes alive.
“Everything that we showed today, yun yung mga sobrang nagla-lack kami ng Game One so yun yung communication, yung support, and yung execution was the biggest factor also for me today,” said De Guzman, a seven-time PVL Best Setter.
“Kasi ang dami naming ginagawa sa training na hindi namin napu-pull off sa laro and it showed today pero alam namin na may ikakaganda pa yung execution namin and communication namin for Game Three.”
De Guzman tossed a game-high 30 excellent sets and spearheaded Creamline’s massive 8-0 blast in the fifth set en route to a 10-2 advantage before Ced Domingo took over and hammered the team’s last three points
Despite the momentum-shifting victory, the 27-year-old Ateneo great refuses to believe that the momentum are on their side as she believes that the Angels will put up the same intensity, if not more, come the do-or-die Game Three.
“Well, we want to think that it’s on our side but bilog ang bola. Petro Gazz is not a team na pwede kang magpabaya and nakita naman yun kanina. We were like points away from winning the game pero kumapit sila so ganun din yung ineexpect namin for Game Three,” said the former PVL Finals MVP.
“That’s what we’re going to prepare for training tomorrow and our best today has to be even better in the coming Game Three.”
