By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Creamline Cool Smashers barely broke a sweat after sweeping the NXLED Chameleons, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20, during their Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference duel on August 8, 2024, at the Philsports Arena.
Fresh off a 3-1 victory over the Galeries Tower Highrisers during their last outing, the reigning All-Filipino Conference queens picked up where they left off and put up a flawless brand of volleyball to end their first-round preliminary campaign with a 4-1 win-loss record.
Creamline’s lone loss in the first round was during their opening game day against the PLDT High-Speed Hitters in an intense five-set thriller.
Since absorbing the heartbreaking loss, the Cool Smashers won four consecutive games and are looking to extend their momentum when the second round of the preliminaries begins.
Bernadeth Pons continued her two-way efficiency for the Cool Smashers and wound up with 13 crucial points derived from 11 successful attacks.
However, Pons shone in the department where she was lauded, in the floor coverage, where she tallied 14 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions.
Pons once again showed her value in the deeply talented Creamline roster after picking up NXLED’s strong attacks that doubled their second-chance opportunities.
Backstopping Pons during Creamline’s dominant win was their reinforcement Erica Staunton who contributed the same amount of points.
The Cool Smashers’ balanced effort also proved to be too much for the Chameleons as Michele Gumabao chipped in 12 markers while playmaker Kyle Negrito dished out 12 excellent sets to go alongside four points.
Creamline will look to continue its winning streak in the Reinforced Conference on August 13, 2024, as they are set to take on the defending champion Petro Gazz Angels in the second game of the scheduled triple-header.
