Undefeated Creamline was put to the ultimate test by Petro Gazz on Thursday evening.
The rivals battled to an epic fifth set with the Cool Smashers winning in the two-hour, 27-minute classic, 25-22, 23-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-13 at the jam-packed Philsports Arena.
The two-time All-Filipino Conference defending champions remained unscathed in five sets but for head coach Sherwin Meneses, one of the biggest winners in the match is his main setter, Kyle Negrito.
Negrito was pushed to the starting role this 2023 Premier Volleyball League third conference after Jia De Guzman pursued her international career by signing with Denso in Division 1 of Japan V.League.
The Far Eastern University product has been a part of Creamline since 2018 but played backup to De Guzman until this edition when she needed to step up.
Meneses hopes that this kind of game, a five-set, push-to-the-limit game against the Angels will hasten the maturity and leadership of the 26-year-old setter.
“Malaking bagay yung game ngayon kasi yun nga, yung experience nila Kyle na naka-five sets na whole game siya yung naglalaro. So napakalaking tulong sa amin na na-experience niya yung mga ganong labanan,” said Meneses on the growth of Negrito.
“Nandiyan yung sistema pero hindi natin alam kung ano yung experience na makukuha nila kada game. Yun naman yung hinahanap namin kasi syempre kapag nandiyan si Jia, nandiyan si Ced (Domingo) medyo alam mo na yung lalaruin eh,” the multi-time champion coach added.
“Ito kasi yung experience nila lalo na si Kyle hindi siya ganon katagal sa game eh so hinahanap namin yung leadership niya hindi lang sa pagseset, just like Jia.”
So far, so good for Negrito since as of last Tuesday’s play date, she ranked second in setting with an average of 4.57 per stanza.
Against Petro Gazz, she distributed the ball well, resulting in 22 excellent sets as three Cool Smashers breached the double-digit mark in scoring. Michele Gumabao had 19 points in just three sets, Tots Carlos got 16 points off the bench, and Jema Galanza made 15 points.
Out of the nine non-setter and non-libero fielded by Meneses, only one failed to score as Alyssa Valdez and Bernadeth Pons scored eight apiece, while Risa Sato, Jeanette Panaga, and Lorie Bernardo also produced for Creamline.
Negrito and the Cool Smashers will aim to stay unbeaten when they face F2 Logistics next on Tuesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
