By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Creamline Cool Smashers pulled off an impressive four-set victory over the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21, to begin their Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on a high note last October 15, 2023, held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Despite missing the services of Ced Domingo and Kyle Atienza, the Cool Smashers had valuable contributions from their deep bench led by Bernadeth Pons and Michele Gumabao who sparked Creamline’s offensive department.
Pons finished the game with 22 points built from 21 successful attacks while Gumabao backstopped the team with 20 markers.
The 1-2 punch connection between Pons and Gumabao was badly needed by the Cool Smashers as team captain Alyssa Valdez only saw action in the last two sets and is still playing under minutes restriction.
This is also the first conference that the Cool Smashers played without their superstar setter Jia Morado-De Guzman who is now in Japan after accepting an Asian import contract.
Answering the call in orchestrating Creamline’s plays was Kyle Negrito, tossing 23 excellent sets in just four sets of action.
The Cool Smashers were poised for another sweeping win but a valiant effort from the Flying Titans in the third set helped them live another day.
Sisi Rondina’s waxing-hot performance in the third frame helped Choco Mucho bounce back but failed to maintain their composure at the start of the fourth.
Sensing blood midway through the fourth set, the Cool Smashers banked on their chemistry and defensive communication to officially fend off the tough challenge from their sister franchise.
“Siyempre happy kami kasi first game namin nanalo kami and thankful din kami kasi yung mga breaks sa huli napunta sa amin.” said Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses.
