Games Saturday
(Batangas City)
4 p.m. – Galeries Tower vs Choco Mucho
6:30 p.m. – Nxled vs Petro Gazz
VIGAN, Ilocos Sur – Creamline faced a gritty challenge from Akari but proved steadier and more seasoned when it mattered most, hacking out a hard-earned 27-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18 victory to seize a share of the lead with Cignal in Pool B at the close of the two-day PVL On Tour inaugurals Monday night at the Chavit Coliseum here.
It wasn’t the dominant performance the Cool Smashers’ faithful had expected after their clinical sweep of the Capital1 Solar Spikers on Sunday (25-10, 25-21, 25-10). But the near-capacity crowd still left satisfied, seeing their squad show resilience and composure in their push to reclaim lost glory after falling short against the Petro Gazz Angels in the recent All-Filipino Conference.
Michele Gumabao followed up her Best Player of the Game outing against the Capital1 Solar Spikers with another strong showing, firing 18 points, while Alyssa Valdez turned back the clock with a vintage 16-point performance. Jema Galanza chipped in 12 markers to bolster Creamline’s balanced attack.
Rookie Sheena Toring also stepped up in a big way. After a modest five-point, two-set stint against Capital1, the young middle blocker delivered 10 points – from quick attack sets from Kyle Negrito – making a strong case in the absence of veteran Bea de Leon.
“We’re very happy and grateful that we were able to apply everything we trained for over the past three weeks,” said Valdez, who was named Best Player of the Game. “We’re really looking forward to improving even more.”
Coach Sherwin Meneses echoed Valdez’s sentiments, saying in Filipino: “We still have a lot to improve on to sustain our strong performance moving forward.”
Valdez also gave credit to the Vigan fans for their enthusiastic support.
“They’re so passionate. You can really feel how much they love Creamline – and the entire PVL,” she said.
The two-hour 11-minute duel saw Creamline tie Cignal at 2-0, with the HD Spikers earlier blasting the Capital1 Solar Spikers, 25-21, 25-22, 25-16, to likewise sweep their opening matches in the two-month pre-season tilt. The tournament features 12 teams split into two pools, with the top two from each bracket advancing directly to the semis. The remaining squads will battle it out in a crossover knockout round to determine the final four.
Despite early setbacks, both Akari and Capital1 remain in the hunt, with expected adjustments in the coming matches as they seek to reboot their respective campaigns in the tournament organized by Sports Vision.
