Alyssa, Jia too much in rout of Motolite

Expecting trouble, Creamline instead took an easy route to victory in the opener of the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference Finals last night, smothering AteneoMotolite, 25-17, 25-10, 25-15, and edging closer to a second championship at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

While the Cool Smashers played loose and pressure-free, the young Lady Eagles came out stiff and tight throughout, a far cry to the form they showed when they upended the BanKoPerlas Spikers in sudden death of their Final Four series.

Creamline, which swept the PetroGazz Angels earlier, took advantage of its rivals’ tentativeness and poor reception in the lopsided triumph that moved them to the threshold of another PVL championship after a breakthrough in the Reinforced Conference last July.

Ranged against the likes of former Ateneo stalwarts Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado and veterans Michelle Gumabao, Risa Sato and Jema Galanza, the Lady Eagles withered and groped for form in absorbing a numbing setback to the chagrin of coach Oliver Almadro.

So erratic were the Lady Eagles that the Cool Smashers clinched the third set and the match after a Julianne Samonte service error and Bea

Phil Younghusband remains confident of the Philippine Azkals’ chances of pulling off a sequel of the “Miracle of Hanoi” when they seek to overhaul a 2-1 deficit against semifinal foe Vietnam and advance to a breakthrough AFF Suzuki Cup finals appearance tonight at My Dinh Stadium in Hanoi.

Despite giving up two goals in Sunday’s home tie at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City, Younghusband is far from throwing the white towel going in the 7:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Manila time) match, knowing that he and the Azkals have done the unthinkable before. (Jonas Terrado)