Creamline, PayMaya sweep rivals, clinch outright semis

Games today (Filoil Flying V Center) 10 a.m. – IEM vs Air Force (men’s) 2 p.m. – Iriga-Navy vs BanKo Perlas (women’s) 4 p.m. – Pocari-Air Force vs Tacloban (women’s)

Creamline put in another solid outing and smothered the young BaliPure-National U side, coming away with a 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 romp to clinch the first outright semifinal seat in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Alyssa Valdez hammered in 11 kills and finished with 15 points, spearheading another Creamline charge that netted the Cool Smashers their fourth straight win and a 5-1 overall card for the first berth in the Final Four.

PayMaya took the other automatic semis seat with a 27-25, 25-23, 25-17 win over PetroGazz for a 4-2 card and solo second, securing the Final Four incentive. With still one game left it has a superior quotient over either BaliPure, Pocari-Air Force or Tacloban in case of a tie at 4-3.

American import Tess Rountree unleashed a 19-kill game while local hitter Grethcel Soltones dished out her best game thus far with 12 markers. Celine Domingo came up with four kills and blocks for eight points for the High Flyers, who had to buck the Angels’ tough stand in the first two frames before cruising to victory in the third.

It also snapped PetroGazz’s three-game run as the Angels, led by Ukrainians Olena Lymareva-Flink and Anastasia Trach’s combined 29-hit output, ended its elims campaign with a 3-4 card for sixth.

The Cool Smashers, priming up for a crack at their first championship with a star- studded cast, also pounced on the high school stars-backed Water Defenders’ shaky service reception and scored 10 aces while drawing 26 free points off BaliPure’s errors.

Thai Kuttika Kaewpin backed Valdez with 10 hits, 11 digs and seven excellent receptions.

BaliPure, led by high school hitter Faith Nisperos and Alyssa Solomon and setter and skipper Joyme Cagande, absorbed their second straight loss and fell to 3-3 in a tie with defending champion Pocari-Air Force and Tacloban. American Janisa Johnson, who keyed BaliPure’s surge in the last couple of games, was held to 13 hits while fellow import Alexis Matthews scored 10 markers.

In men’s play, Vice Co. bucked Mark Alfafara’s 24-hit game to beat PLDT, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20.