Creamline held off Cignal down the stretch of the pivotal third set then dominated in the fourth to fashion out a 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-12 victory and re-join idle Chery Tiggo at the helm in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference elims at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna on Saturday.
Import Yeliz Basa shattered the HD Spikers’ defense with her stinging hits on her way to a 14-point game while Jema Galanza sizzled with 17 points and Alyssa Valdez backed them up with eight markers as Tots Carlos continued to play limited minutes coming off back issues.
But the two-time MVP’s token presence hardly stymied the Cool Smashers’ offense as the rest of the locals stepped up for the third straight time with the HD Spikers aiding the grand slam-seeking squad’s romp with a spate of errors late in the fourth.
As Creamline followed up its pair of four-set wins over PLDT and Petro Gazz, Cignal took another loss after bowing to Chery Tiggo last weekend after an opening day win over Akari for joint fifth with PLDT and F2 Logistics.
After scoring the last three points to snatch the second set, Cignal battled back and threatened to within one in the third. But Creamline held its ground and matched the HD Spikers’ strong finish in the previous frame to go 2-1 up.
The Cool Smashers took full control in the fourth as the HD Spikers fumbled with their reception and floor defense and struggled with their attacks.
Earlier, bracing for a grind-out battle, Petro Gazz went on a virtual cruise instead, drubbing Akari, 25-13, 25-14, 25-20, to get back into the thick of things.
