CREAMLINE tries to finish off Petro Gazz in Game 2 of the best-of-three series and run away with the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference title on Friday.
The match will be played this time at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City at 6 p.m. with Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses feeling less pressure after they took Game 1, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12, 32-30, at the packed Mall of Asia Arena late Wednesday.
“We’re thankful that we got Game 1, Meneses said. “Winning the first game’s a big deal because the pressure is now on the other side.”
Back in the same spot as they were last year, Meneses guaranteed a different ending this time.
“What happened last year was a lesson to us,” he said, referring to the PVL’s first year as a pro league in the Iloilo Norte bubble where they beat the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in Game 1, but lost the next two in the best-of-three finals.
One thing going for the Cool Smashers as they set out for the clincher—and a rare sweep of the championship—is that Petro Gazz top hitter Grethcel Soltones remains a doubtful starter after the former San Sebastian star sustained an injury while trying to help anchor the Angels’ fightback in the fourth set.
“It’s a different game on Friday. We’ll have a new rotation, we are one player down but somebody must step up,” Petro Gazz coach Jerry Yee said. “The team is mature enough to fight. If they give us a break, we’ll cash in on it.”
The presentation of individual awards will precede the 3 p.m. match for third place where Choco Mucho seeks to also finish off Cignal HD in their best-of-three series. Choco Mucho won their series opener, 25-17, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, also Wednesday.
To force a deciding game, the Angels will have a lot of adjusting to do primarily on offense and coverage after the Cool Smashers hammered 76 attack points from 190 attempts in Game 1 with Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos at the forefront of the assault with 24 and 23 kills, respectively.
The team’s 1-2 scoring threat finished with 26 points apiece with Jema Galanza adding 17 points and Pangs Panaga chipping in 13 points.
Setter Jia de Guzman is expected to raise her game a notch higher to keep Creamline’s dreaded offense going while counterpart Chie Saet expects to put up more of the same that she dished out the first time out to keep the Petro Gazz hitters in sync and in attack mode all game.
Petro Gazz actually produced more blocks, 12-10, but converted just 41 kills in 170 tries with MJ Phillips topscoring with 13 points, Soltones pumping 11 before moving out in pain and Jonah Sabete adding nine kills for 11 points.
Myla Pablo struggled for just seven points, Remy Palma settled for six points, Aiza Pontillas groped for five hits and Nicole Tiamzon, subbing for the injured Soltones, finished with two points.
But they are expected to step up in a match they couldn’t afford to lose, thus ensuring a more explosive performance for the Angels, who foiled the Cool Smashers’ back-to-back title bid in the 2019 Reinforced Conference.
Creamline, however, got back at Petro Gazz in the succeeding Open conference, which the Cool Smashers retained, only to yield it to the Choco Mucho side in a bubble setup last year.
But with the Crossovers’ bubble pricked in the absence of Jaja Santiago, the Cool Smashers are now a win away from becoming the second team to win a championship in the Sports Vision-organized league’s pro era.
Creamline, meanwhile, also sparkled in their backrow stand in Game One, coming through with 89 excellent digs, 58 more than Petro Gazz, with Kyle Atienza producing 25 and Galanza adding 18 on top helping the team in attacks.
But stats won’t matter for a Petro Gazz side in a do-or-die hole while expect Creamline to pile up the numbers that would embellish their impending date with history.