Creamline setter Jia Morado was surgical in Game One of the 2019 PVL Reinforced Conference best-of-three Finals, Wednesday evening.
The 5-foot-7 setter picked Petro Gazz’s defense apart in Creamline’s four-set triumph. Amidst the pressure-packed atmosphere, her steady performance shone, dishing out a plethora of sets for her attackers with precise execution while dealing damage whenever she caught the Angels napping on defense.
The two-time PVL Finals MVP put all but three Cool Smashers in the scoring column en route to 21 excellent sets to go along three points. While Morado glued things together for Creamline, she still attributed her solid playmaking to her teammates.
“Well, hindi ko naman yun magagawa kung hindi ako napapasahan ng mga teammates ko”
The reigning champions showed that their vaunted offense isn’t just the only weapon in their arsenal as their defense is also up to par. To the delight of Morado, the Cool Smashers netted 70 excellent digs and 31 excellent reception in the win.
“It was a total team effort na napadali ko ang buhay ng spikers ko kasi napadali din ang buhay ko as a setter dahil ang ganda ng passing namin today and ang ganda ng receiving namin,” the product of Ateneo beamed.
Moreover, her fine performance propelled Creamline’s three-peat bid as the Cool Smashers are now on the cusp of a title. Still, despite being a win away from supremacy, Morado said that her team will brush aside pressure and complacency in order to fulfill the task at hand.
“We’re going to think that it’s still game one, it’s still another game. ‘Di namin ipe-pressure ang sarili namin,” the three-time Best Setter awardee admitted.
“We’re not going to take it lightly and we’re not going to abuse this advantage.”
