Creamline kept its cool, answering every Chery Tiggo run to essay a 25-18, 27-25, 25-22 victory to draw first blood in the semifinals of the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference, Thursday at the Philsports Arena.
The Cool Smashers, riding an 11-game winning streak, overcame the Crossovers’ surprise personnel switch in the opener that saw Mylene Paat play the middle blocker position and then survived Eya Laure’s late flurry in the second frame to move on the verge of securing their 12th consecutive win of the season-ending conference.
Creamline eventually took care of business in the third set, fending off another attempt by Chery Tiggo to seal Game 1 of the series and move closer to its 10th finals appearance and sixth consecutive in the All-Filipino Conference.
“Ah siyempre ‘di pa tapos yung laban. Kailangan pa namin ng one game para makapasok sa finals. Training ulit muna kami para tignan namin yung mga lapses para gumanda pa yung nilalaro namin,” said Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses.
After running away in the first set, the Cool Smashers weathered a late run by the Crossovers led by Eya Laure, who scored back-to-back points to tie the game at 22-all and keep her side afloat.
With the younger Laure leading an uprising, Tots Carlos and Michele Gumabao tightened their defense above the net and blocked consecutive attempts from the former UST star to send the game to a deuce before Alyssa Valdez took over and delivered a cross-court attack to put Creamline ahead, 25-24.
Laure answered back with a drop ball but Valdez, who skipped the team’s last game to rest, scored off the block before unloading the set-winning ace that put the Rebisco-backed squad in a 2-0 set advantage.
Chery Tiggo looked like it was about to take the third after taking a 17-15 advantage but Valdez and Jema Galanza engineered a 5-0 run to retake the lead, 20-17, before eventually taking the hard-fought, straight-set win.
“Siguro yung ganung laro ko, tinutulungan lang ako, and siguro yung mga ganung klaseng laro, napapadali lahat,” said Galanza, who once again took charge for Creamline.
Galanza showcased her all-around game anew and fired 17 points to go along with nine excellent receptions and seven excellent digs while Tots Carlos provided support, tallying 15 points to go along with 12 excellent receptions in the one-hour, 36-minute victory.
Valdez, who sat out the team’s final elimination match to rest, delivered 12 points as a starter while middle blockers Jeanette Panaga and Risa Sato had six points each for the Cool Smashers.
Kyle Negrito tossed 23 excellent sets laced with three points in the win while Ella De Jesus tallied 11 excellent receptions.
Creamline will try to finish off the series in Game 2 on Saturday, 6:00 p.m. at the same venue.
Eya Laure carried the fight for the Crossovers, who have now lost three consecutive games, with 18 points on 17 attacks and one ace while Paat and Cza Carandang had nine apiece in the loss.
Chery Tiggo struggled to hold off the Cool Smashers’ attacks, failing to secure a single block in the contest while also allowing the defending champions to convert 51 attacks out of 137 attempts.
