Creamline stakes its unblemished record against a PLDT side seeking to recover lost grounds as the PVL (Premier Volleyball League) on Tour goes to Cagayan de Oro at the CDO International Convention Center on Saturday.
The Cool Smashers, reaching peak form in time for the semis, underscored their readiness to sweep the rare two All-Filipino crowns staked in the season about to end, giving top contender the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers a sound 3-0 beating last Tuesday to stay at the helm at 6-0 and remain the only unbeaten team in the league organized by Sports Vision.
In contrast, the High Speed Hitters suffered a 1-3 loss to the surging Chery Tiggo Crossovers last weekend, dropping them to fifth at 5-2 behind joint second-running the Choco Mucho Flying Titans and the Crossovers and No. 4 the Cignal HD Spikers.
That should make their 6 p.m. encounter a must-win for PLDT since another setback would further drop the High Speed Hitters from the race heading to a frenetic finish.
After facing majority of lightweight rivals, PLDT is now hard-pressed to level up against the league’s top contenders. After the Cool Smashers, the High Speed Hitters will take on the Flying Titans on Nov. 23, collide with the Cargo Movers on Nov. 30, before facing off with the Petro Gazz Angels on Dec. 5.
Creamline, on the other hand, will next square off with Nxled on Nov. 23, then tests Chery Tiggo’s mettle on Nov. 28 in what could be a preview of the championship.
The defending champions will next battle the Akari Chargers on Nov. 30 then close out their elims campaign against the winless Galeries Tower Highrisers.
But while Creamline has the inside track to the semis, PLDT has got lots of work to do to make it to the next round given the form, strength, and camaraderie of Chery Tiggo, Choco Mucho, and Cignal.
Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses has been enjoying his team’s journey at this stage of their campaign with Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao, Bernadette Pons and Pangs Panaga and the rest of the Cool Smashers continuing to get better and fiercer as the elims heads to the final stretch.
Meanwhile, Akari also seeks to redeem itself from a four-set defeat to sister team Nxled last Tuesday as the Chargers mix it up with the Highrisers in the 4 p.m. opener.
At 3-4, Akari needs to sweep its last four games to nurture hopes for at least a tie for the last semis seat. But against the Highrisers, the Chargers will meet a team so hungry for victory and recognition in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, SMART, Rebisco, Milcu, Kumu, Asics and SportRadar.
Games can be streamed on Pilipinas Live and PVL.ph and are telecast on One Sports, One Sports+, and SMART Livestream app.
