Creamline smashes way to first PVL crown
Creamline leaned on its superb blocking as it shackled PayMaya, 25-19, 25-20, 25-11, to claim its first ever crown in the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Reinforced Conference at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay yesterday.
The Cool Smashers imposed their presence at the net with 12 solid blocks while also pounding the High Flyers from the attack line, 42-28, en route to fashioning out the masterful victory for a sweep of their best-of-three series.
Creamline prevailed in the series opener, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, last Sunday and coasted to the three-set romp in Game Two to close out the series that more than made up for its back-toback third place finishes in last year’s inaugurals of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.
“The pressure became bigger for us because getting a championship means you need to improve more to achieve more in the long run. But more than the pressure, this first championship will always be memorable and will serve as a stepping stone to get bigger goals as a team,” said Creamline ace Alyssa Valdez, who relished her first championship since winning in the defunct V-League Reinforced Conference in 2015.
The former Ateneo hotshot fired 15 hits, three aces and a block to lead the way for Creamline with 19 points, Michele Gumabao scored 12 on nine hits, two denials and an ace, Thai Kuttika Kaewpin also had 12 points highlighted by four blocks, American Laura Schaudt added nine markers while Risa Sato scored half of her six-point output on blocks.
Jia Morado tallied all of the team’s 29 excellent sets and took the Finals MVP trophy.
American Tess Rountree put in 12 points for PayMaya which drew just six markers from Grethcel Soltones.
BanKo-Perlas repelled Pocari-Air Force, 23-25, 25-10, 25-14, 25-17, to clinch third place honors via superior quotient. The Lady Warriors took the opener of their best-of-three series for third in five sets.