Creamline secured the top seed in Pool B after dealing Petro Gazz its first loss, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-10 in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Paco Arena Events and Sports Center, Wednesday.
Tots Carlos dropped a season-high 28 big points along with 16 excellent digs and four excellent receptions to lead the Cool Smashers to a 3-0 campaign in Pool B.
“Yung win ngayon napaka importante sa amin kasi papasok ng quarterfinals so yung momentum nasa amin pa,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses. “Kaya sabi ko sa mga players kahit na twice-to-beat tayo dapat tayong mag laro nang maganda.”
The Cool Smashers fired on all cylinders in the fifth set with five players joining hands to build a slim 7-5 advantage against the Angels.
Alyssa Valdez and Jema Galanza then starred in a 4-0 blast that gave Creamline a six-point, 11-5 lead to further bury Petro Gazz.
The Angels sliced to lead to four, 9-13, off a Grethcel Soltones conversion before Valdez put the Cool Smashers at match-point.
Petro Gazz blocked Panaga in the ensuing possession but Galanza was there to seal the win for Creamline.
“Kahit papaano nakuha namin yung panalo, medyo may mga lapses lang sa bandang gitna so iwo-work out namin. Pero napaganda naman, sa Sunday pa yung quarterfinals so mai-improve pa namin yung mga fault namin today pero siyempre masaya tayo dahil nanalo tayo,” he added.
Galanza and Valdez added 18 and 17 points, respectively, for the Cool Smashers.
Kyla Atienza collected 19 excellent receptions and 18 excellent digs in the victory while Jia De Guzman tossed 35 excellent sets to go along with four points.
On the other hand, Soltones’ 23-point outing went down the drain as Petro Gazz lost its first game of the tournament.
MJ Phillips scored 15 points for the Angels while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas contributed 13 points along with 14 excellent digs. Cienne Cruz had 24 receptions and 10 digs while Chie Saet delivered 27 excellent sets.
Still, despite the loss, the Angels settled for the second seed in Group B with a 2-1 slate to earn the second twice-to-beat incentive in the pool.
Creamline will take on the fourth seed in Pool A in the quarterfinals while Petro Gazz will face the third seed from the same group.
