Games Sunday
2 p.m. – PetroGazz vs BanKo-Perlas
4 p.m. – Creamline vs Motolite
Creamline struggled with top hitter Alyssa Valdez and playmaker Jia Morado back in the fold but the Cool Smashers quickly recovered and re-asserted their might over the Motolite side and fashioned out an 18-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-14 victory to stay on track for grand sweep of the PVL Open Conference crown at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan Saturday.
The Creamline Cool Smashers celebrate after winning against Motolite and moving a win away from the PVL Open Finals (SportsVision Images)
Motolite came into the opener of their best-of-three series armed to the teeth and surprised the defending champions, who had tried to impose their will early with Valdez and Morado back in starting roster after cutting short their training camp with the Nationals in Japan to spearhead Creamline’s title-retention drive.
But the fourth-seeded squad failed to sustain its hot start and whose offense fizzled out in the face of the Cool Smashers’ strong fightback in the second frame. It was more of the same in the next two sets though Motolite forced Creamline to a tight duel in the pivotal third frame only to crumble as the Cool Smashers unleashed a strong finishing kick – racking up four straight points to go 2-1 up.
It was an all-Creamline show in the fourth, paving the way for the Cool Smashers’ the third straight victory over the Motolite squad this conference.
The win didn’t only stretch Creamline’s amazing win run to 17, counting the 16 in the double-round elims of the season ending conference organized by Sports Visions, but it also moved the team three victories away from completing a grand sweep.
But standing in the way are PetroGazz and BanKo-Perlas, which are disputing the other finals berth in their side of the series at presstime with the Angels going all out for a win for a possible crack at the Cool Smashers, whom they humbled in the recent Reinforced Conference finals.
Creamline goes for the clincher today (Sunday) in back-to-back weekend games in the tournament backed by Mikasa, Asics and KFC.
“We’re happy for the win,” said Valdez, who fired away 20 points and added 16 digs. “The goal of the team is really to get Game 1 so we would be playing with a lot more confidence in the next.”
“We’re happy that we’re all back together,” she added.
Michele Gumabao and Jema Galanza, doing what they do best, backed Valdez with a solid combined 29-hit output while Pau Soriano and Celine Domingo each added 11 markers to underscore the team’s awesome offensive sock.
Isa Molde led Motolite with 15 hits while Tots Carlos had 13 markers, 19 digs and 19 excellent receptions and Aie Gannaban came through with 10 points as ace hitter Myla Pablo was held to only six points.
— end it//thanks