Relentless in attacks and tenacious in defense, Creamline overpowered Choco Mucho, 25-18, 25-13, 25-14, to roll to its third straight victory and the solo lead in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elims at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday.
Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao and Ced Domingo dished out 15-point outputs while Tots Carlos added six points and Pangs Panaga helped control the middle with Domingo as the Cool Smashers turned their much-hyped Valentine’s Day encounter with their sister team into a one-sided show before a huge Tuesday crowd.
But it was their superb floor defense and solid blocking that kept them in control throughout the one-hour, 19-minute match as the top Choco Mucho hitters struggled trying to convert their shots and their passing left much to be desired, leading to a number of miscues and thwarted plays.
Panaga finished with five points for the defending champions, who broke away from a three-way tie for the lead with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers and the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers with a 3-0 slate.
The shutout loss was the second straight for Choco Mucho, which also succumbed to Petro Gazz last Thursday after kicking off its campaign with a sweep of Akari last Feb. 4.
Kat Tolentino and Des Cheng both scored eight points to lead the Flying Titans that more than underscored their offensive struggle in the face of the Cool Smashers’ unforgiving defense.
After a first-set roll and a romp in the next, the Cool Smashers kept pouring it in through kills, crosscourt hits, back row blasts and quick attacks, racing to an 8-3 bulge in the third. Three more unanswered points, spiked by Domingo’s five-hit binge in the middle, put Creamline way ahead before the Flying Titans broke the spell not on their merit but on the Cool Smashers’ flawed serve.
The Flying Titans did score three straight points to pull within four and gained on a Carlos’ net violation after a combination play coming out of the huddle. A Cheng attack pulled Choco Mucho to within two to the delight of the Flying Titans supporters, who accounted for half of the 9,575 fans, including a number of Bb. Pilipinas candidates.
But Carlos blasted in a backrow hit and Galanza followed through with back-to-back stinging kills and the Cool Smashers regained control again at 16-10 on a tap by Jia de Guzman with Galanza and Gumabao anchoring another key run with kills on opposite sides.
Panaga came through with back-to-back hits on quick plays and Gumabao scored on a kill block as the Cool Smashers finished off the Flying Titans on Domingo’s pair of quick attacks.
