For a team so used to taking the short route to success, Creamline continued to prove it can also be just as potent a team in drawn-out battles.
Dragged into a five-set duel for the second straight time, the Cool Smashers rose to the challenge again, grinding out a 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 24-26, 15-10 result over the Cignal HD Spikers to firm up their title-retention campaign in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference before a packed weekend crowd at the hot Philsports Arena in Pasig on Saturday evening.
Not only did the win stretch their run to six, counting their sweep of the five-team Pool A elims marked by three 3-0 romps, for a 3-0 card in the semis. But more importantly, it also drove a wedge between themselves and their nearest pursuers as the HD Spikers dropped to a three-way tie for second at 1-2 (win-loss) with the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers and the PLDT High Speed Hitters.
Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses, however, said his wards are no strangers to lengthy battles, stressing: “Ang Creamline naman ay proven na sa mga five-setters. Either kung ano ang resulta, basta maglalaro sila. Ang maganda nanalo kami at masaya kasi nagiging klaro na yung situation para makalapit kami sa finals.”
Meanwhile, guest teams Kurashiki Ablaze of Japan and Vietnam’s Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh side were still playing at presstime, marking their debut in the single round semis phase of the mid-season offering of the league organized by Sports Vision.
The Cool Smashers, who outlasted the Cargo Movers, 12-25, 25-15, 23-25, 30-28, 15-7, last Thursday in a grudge encounter, nearly squandered a huge 8-4 lead in the decider but used a crucial contested call to re-group and key a decisive 6-2 windup.
“We’re just very grateful that we got the win. It went down to ball control and who wanted it more. And I’m glad everyone contributed,” said skipper Alyssa Valdez, who also notched back-to-back Player of the Game honors after following up her 17-hit outing against F2 with a fiery 22-point showing, including two aces, against Cignal.
The HD Spikers, who staved off a four-set loss with a tough win in a back-and-forth fourth set skirmish that took 41 minutes to finish, charged back from four-points down in the fifth behind workhorse Ces Molina’s sustained attacks and a Rose Doria block off Tots Carlos that pulled them within, 8-9.
They tied it in the ensuing play but in a fleeting moment as the Cool Smashers challenged a net fault on Doria which proved successful, giving the point instead to the Cool Smashers, who sat on a 10-8 cushion before the vaunted Creamline troika of Carlos, Jema Galanza and Valdez finished off the HD Spikers with their thundering assaults.
Carlos scored on an off-the-block hit and the equally heavy-hitting Galanza fired an ace to restore a four-point Creamline lead, 12-8. And after Molina delivered her game-high 28th point to keep the HD Spikers within striking distance at 9-12 before moving to backrown in rotation, Valdez banged in a power hit after a brief exchange and Carlos countered Jovelyn Gonzaga’s own attack before Valdez clinched it with her 18th blast.
Carlos actually top-scored for the crowd favorites with 27 points while Galanza came through with 21 markers, underscoring the team’s awesome hitting prowess, which the rest of the Cool Smashers complemented with superb defense upfront, netting them 10 blocks, including four from Ced Domingo.
Molina also drew solid support from Rachel Anne Daquis, Riri Meneses and Gonzaga, who finished with 14, 12 and 11, respectively, but the HD Spikers failed to match the Cool Smashers’ strong finishing kick and absorbed their first loss after sweeping their last four matches in 3-0 fashions.
