Creamline eyes 2nd crown; Pocari seeks redemption
three- 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 -- over Roberto Bautista-Agut made it 2-0.
Croatia also led 2-0 going into Saturday’s doubles.
In the opening rubber Borna Coric, world number 18, had defeated Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Croatia’s top player and world number six Marin Cilic then defeated Frances Tiafoe, a Davis Cup debutant, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to leave the hosts on the brink of
But the 2005 champions still have work to do to seal their third Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison won a deciding-set tie-break to end a thrilling comeback from Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic with a 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 1-6, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5) victory after four hours and 43 minutes.
will secure victory in Sunday’s Steve Johnson.
“Cilic is a big favourite... it defeat him in front of a home crowd,” Krajan told television channel HRT.
If Johnson causes an upset against Cilic, Coric will play against Tiafoe in a deciding rubber. CREAMLINE goes two-for-two in the season while Pocari-Air Force sets out to regain the crown as action in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Open Conference blasts off Saturday (Sept. 22) at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Adamson- Akari, BanKo- Perlas, Iriga- Navy, Ateneo- Motolite, PetroGazz and Tacloban complete the eight- team cast slugging it out for top honors in the season- ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Winner of the Reinforced Conference early in the season, the Cool Smashers shoot for another championship but face a tougher, fierce set of rivals out to foil their title drive in the two- and- a- half month long tournament backed by Mikasa and Asics.
Creamline swept PayMaya in the Reinforced finals to claim a breakthrough victory in the league with Asian Games veterans Alyssa Valdez and Jia Morado spearheading the star-studded crew in the all-Filipino conference featuring some of the country’s best and rising volley stars.
BaliPure, which dethroned 2016 champion Pocari in last year’s finals here, is skipping this year’s competition.
But the field remains as talentladen as ever with Pocari likewise fielding in a solid roster led by MVP Myla Pablo, and the likes of Adamson, BanKo- Perlas, Iriga- Navy, PetroGazz and Tacloban all shoring up their respective rosters with key acquisitions during the off- season.
Focus will also be on AteneoMotolite, which skipped the recent Collegiate Conference won by University of the Philippines, to toughen for the tournament.
Tacloban and PetroGazz kick off hostilities at 4 p.m. on Saturday with BanKo-Perlas and Iriga-Navy tangling in the 6 p.m. main encounter.
The league, which held out- oftown games in Tuguegarao, Batangas and other provinces in the Reinforced Conference, will hold games in Malolos, Bulacan, Imus, Cavite, Baliwag, Bulacan, Batangas and Cagayan de Oro in its continuing commitment to bring the sport closer to the people.
The Lady Eagles begin their title quest on Sunday against the Lady Warriors in an early marquee matchup with the PetroGazz Angeles and the BanKo-Perlas Spikers colliding in the other match.