By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
11-0. Dominance at its finest.
After nearly two months of Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference action, the Creamline Cool Smashers ended another preliminary stage with a perfect record to clinch the no. 1 spot heading into the playoffs.
The Cool Smashers were able to complete the sweep after taking down the Galeries Tower, 19-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-13, last December 5, 2023, held at the Philsports Arena.
Creamline averted a rare collapse against one of the lower-seeded squads in the league after dropping the opening set in shocking fashion.
Known as a strong starting team during their past 10 matches, the Cool Smashers kicked off the match differently after committing tons of unforced errors which led to quick points for Galeries.
Aside from their unforced errors, the Cool Smashers also failed to contain Galeries’ back row attacks that composed most of their points during the crucial final stretch of the first set.
Just when Galeries thought they could sustain their firepower against a more experienced team, Creamline had other plans and started to regain momentum with the help of Jema Galanza’s quick points in the second set.
After Galanza went hot, Bernadeth Pons then joined the hitting party that paved the way for another Creamline signature counter-attack.
As Creamline built a huge lead midway through the second set, Galeries seemed to lose gas and weren’t able to keep up with the high-octane offense displayed by the Cool Smashers.
Creamline never looked back and dominated the last two sets while only limiting Galeries to just 27 combined points in over 25 minutes of action.
Galanza led the charge for the Cool Smashers after contributing 12 big points built from 10 successful attacks.
Meanwhile, Pons stuffed the stat sheets and added 10 markers built from eight successful attacks alongside 12 excellent receptions.
With the win, the Cool Smashers will be advancing to the PVL playoffs and will take on the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the semifinals on December 7, 2023.