By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
For the second-straight time, the Creamline Cool Smashers are your Premier Volleyball League (PVL) champions!
The Creamline Cool Smashers exacted their revenge against the KingWhale Taipei volleyball squad after sweeping them during the grand finals match, 25-21, 25-19, 25-8, and raised the PVL Invitational Conference championship trophy.
After receiving a five-set loss against Taipei last August 12, the Cool Smashers were locked in entering the knockout championship match and displayed dominance in front of their Filipino fans.
Tots Carlos once again carried the Creamline offensive load and dazzled with 14 big points while being hailed as PVL’s two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Whenever Creamline needed her the most, Carlos rose to the occasion and spearheaded a momentum-clinching offensive run in the tightly-contested first set.
However, KingWhale jumped to an early lead in the second set and outdueled the Cool Smashers on the offensive end after its opposite hitters finally regained their touch after a shaky first set.
Taipei continued its varied offensive attack and ballooned its lead to six, 16-10, but the Cool Smashers flipped the switch and completed one of the best clutch runs in the entire PVL tournament.
From being down to six, the Cool Smashers suddenly snowballed its way and capped off the nip-and-tuck second set with a 15-3 closing run.
Superstar Alyssa Valdez was an integral part of Creamline’s comeback after scoring two straight service aces that pumped up the whole Cool Smashers squad during their 15-3 run.
Aside from Valdez, the veteran duo of Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao stepped up and scored the crucial conversions during their last five possessions.
It was all Creamline in the third and last set as their balanced scoring spree and improved middle-blocking propelled them to their second-straight PVL championship.
