Creamline seals top seed

ILOILO CITY -- Creamline picked itself up from a third set stumble with a dominant run in the fourth, fashioning out a 25-17, 25-22, 27-29, 25-8 victory to finish on top of the elims with a 7-1 (win-loss) slate in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, Tuesday at the San Agustin Gymnasium here.

The Rebisco-backed squad displayed an excellent performance, with Jia Morado and Michele Gumabao leading the offense with their impressive scoring ability. Morado, who steered the offense with 22 excellent sets, also contributed eight points, five of which were aces, and three attacks. Meanwhile, Gumabao had a game-high 19 points built on 17 attacks. Creamline’s Jema Galanza and Tots Carlos also showed their dominance on the court, adding 17 and 16 points, respectively. Carlos, who had 16 excellent receptions and 12 excellent digs, finished the game with a triple-double, leading the team to their fourth consecutive win. Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses praised his team's resilience after the game, stating that their ability to recover from setbacks was key to their success. "Ang sabi ko lang naman sa kanila yung team kailangan nakakarecover. Hindi pwedeng nada-down kasi lumalaban din yung mga kalaban so kung hindi natin kayang i-handle yung pressure nung pagkatalo sa first set, siguro hindi tayo deserving na makapasok sa semis," Meneses said.

Akari ended up with a 2-6 card.

On the other hand, Eli Soyud was the lone double-digit scorer for Akari with 17 points. Trisha Genesis stepped up in the loss and scored nine points, while Erika Raagas had seven points, 11 excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs.

Creamline will face the No. 4 squad in the semis starting Saturday at the Philsports Arena with the Nos. 2 and 3 teams clashing in the other best-of-three series.