Tots Carlos had no regrets as Creamline settled for a bronze finish following a heart-breaking campaign that saw them miss the opportunity to complete a rare grand slam in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference finals.
The Cool Smashers were on track to clinch the first-ever grand slam bid in the PVL after winning the Open and Invitational Conferences and dominating the eliminations of the Reinforced Conference.
However, the Rebisco-backed squad could not get the job done. Instead, they placed third in the round-robin semifinals.
Instead, Creamline settled for a third-place finish after sweeping Chery Tiggo – the team that ended their finals hopes – in the bronze series.
“I think everyone did very well kasi ginawa naman namin yung trabaho namin,” said the back-to-back PVL MVP.
“Sila coach, yung mga teammates ko, kaming mga players and even the management, yung suporta nila sa amin todo todo so I think maganda naman yung ginawa namin lalo na naka-third kami ngayon kasi we’ve been working hard for the whole year so I think okay naman yung team,” she added.
The Cool Smashers hit another snag during Game Two of their bronze medal series against the Crossovers, with Turkish import Yelo Basa sidelined due to a nagging injury. Making matters worse, the team’s heart and soul Alyssa Valdez suffered an injury on her right knee early in the third set.
That ruled her out of the match.
With two of their key players out, Carlos stepped up to the challenge and dropped 19 points on 17 attacks and two aces to steer Creamline to a 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21 win over Chery Tiggo at the Philsports Arena.
The former UP standout said that she was confident that the rest of the Cool Smashers would fill the huge hole left by Valdez. And they did exactly that against the Crossovers.
“Syempre malaking bagay si Ate Ly sa amin when it comes sa pag-cheer sa mga teammates mga ganun, in terms of the mood, sa morale ganyan,” said Carlos.
“Pero like what coach said, lagi niyang sinasabi na kung sino ‘man ipasok, wala namang nagbabago.
“Kasi sa training lahat naman kami ginagawa yung pare-parehong drills, pare-parehong pwesto. So ‘pag pinasok kami, isa lang naman yung sistema and hindi naman kami tao-tao. So yung ginagawa namin kapag nawala yung isa, meron at merong mag-fifill,” she added.
Now, after a grueling year that saw them compete in three PVL conferences and two international tournaments, Creamline can finally get its much-deserved breather.
“Syempre, like what coach said masaya kami kasi we ended the season very well and finally offseason na.”
