Despite missing key players, Creamline did not miss a beat, taking down sister squad Choco Mucho in four sets, 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21 to kick-start its title-retention bid in the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Cool Smashers, who are also without Jia De Guzman this conference, missed the services of starters Ced Domingo and Kyla Atienza while team captain Alyssa Valdez only played in the last two frames.
Atienza was dealing with an undisclosed injury since the last conference while Domingo was out due to a dental procedure.
Stepping up in the win were reserves Bernadeth Pons and Michele Gumabao, who dropped 22 and 20 points, respectively, to help the Cool Smashers clinch their ninth consecutive victory of the season in front of 14,014 fans inside the arena.
Kyle Negrito fit like a glove in her new starting gig and tallied 23 excellent sets laced with three points while Ella De Jesus collected 17 excellent digs.
“Siyempre happy kami kasi first game namin nanalo kami and thankful din kami kasi yung mga breaks sa huli napunta sa’min. Syempre yung Choco hindi rin kami binitawan pero hindi naman nagpabaya yung players ko,” said Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses.
Creamline looked like it was about to wrap up the game in three sets after dominant showings in the first two. However, the Flying Titans managed to take a 23-22 lead late in the third before Pons and Tots Carlos scored on consecutive hits to pull the Cool Smashers at match point.
Des Cheng, though, sent the game to a deuce with an off the block hit before Sisi Rondina and Aduke Ogunsanya scored on consecutive blocks on Kyle Negrito and Risa Sato, respectively, to force a fourth frame.
The defending champions sealed the deal in the fourth set with Valdez scoring two points in a 5-1 spurt that allowed the Cool Smashers to pull away midway into the frame, 19-14.
Creamline never looked back from there as Gumabao and Pons dropped the differential hits to complete the win and extending their streak over Choco Mucho to a clean 9-0.
Creamline will take on Cignal on Saturday, 7:00 p.m. in Batangas City.
Rondina dropped 21 points on 19 attacks, an ace, and a block to lead the Flying Titans while getting contributions from the likes of Caitlyn Viray (12), Cheng (11), and Cherry Rose Nunag (10).
Thang Ponce tallied 23 excellent digs and 17 excellent receptions while Deanna Wong was held to just 14 excellent sets.
Meanwhile, Aduke Ogunsanya, who suffered a torn ACL on her right knee on July 22, played her first game back and tallied three points.
Choco Mucho will look for its first win against Farm Fresh on Thursday, 5:00 p.m. at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
