Creamline showed nerves of steel in the crunch to survive Petro Gazz, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12, 32-30, Wednesday night and move a win away from reclaiming the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference title at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Cool Smashers banked on their unstoppable attacks anchored on Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches and draw the first blood in their best-of-three finals affair.
Valdez and Carlos erupted for similar 26 points while combining for 47 of the team’s 76 kills as the Creamline bounced back from an erratic second set by holding on to their composure in the next two frames including the pivotal fourth set.
Petro Gazz fought long and hard in the fourth set where it had six set-point advantages until a kill from Carlos sent Creamline at matchpoint.
A costly spike from Seth Rodriguez that went long sealed the victory for the Cool Smashers.
While Valdez and Carlos took charge of Creamline’s attacking game, it was veteran setter Jia De Guzman who made the difference by converting smart plays to finish with 39 excellent sets.
She also had 15 digs on top of our points.
Despite the emphatic win, De Guzman said it’s not yet over.
“We’re grateful for the win but we know we can’t just win the title in one game,” the former Ateneo standout said.
“We’ll still work hard in our training and try to adjust to things that we could have done better. Since eto na yung finals, ibubuhos na talaga namin lahat.”
That could be lessening their unforced errors as they gave up 27 points compared to Petro Gazz’s only 12.
Jema Galanza also shone with 17 points while Jeanette Panaga chipped in 13 points for the Cool Smashers, who also finished with 10 blocks and seven aces.
Grethcel Soltones fired 12 points while Myla Pablo had seven for Petro Gazz until both suffered from cramps that became crucial to the Angels.