By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Sweet revenge, indeed.
After losing to the Kurashiki Ablaze during last year’s Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference grand finals, the Creamline Cool Smashers marked September 8, 2024, as the day of vengeance after finally bagging a win over the Japan-based club, 25-22, 25-22, 26-28, 25-21, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Heading into their matchup, Kurashiki has not lost a single game in the PVL since accepting to be a part of the Invitational Conference last year.
Despite the absences of Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, and Alyssa Valdez, the Cool Smashers still found a glimmer of hope after the solid outings of Bernadeth Pons, Michele Gumabao, and import Erica Staunton during their Reinforced Conference playoff campaign.
The trio then delivered for the Cool Smashers as their blazing attacks were too much to handle for Kurashiki in the first two sets.
With Staunton finishing every high cross-court set that Kyle Negrito delivered and Gumabao & Pons working wonders in the backline,the Creamline attack looked formidable after taking a comfortable 2-0 advantage.
However, just when the Cool Smashers thought they could blank the game and score a sweeping win, the experienced Kurashiki squad’s clutch DNA genes came through in the third.
In the tightly-contested third set, Creamline had chances to put away the game and seal the 3-0 win but Kurashiki’s timely hits helped them survive and drag the game into a fourth set.
The fourth and final period was still close, but Creamline’s resurgence in their floor coverage defense made the difference, steering them to a 2-0 record in the Invitational Conference.
Staunton continued her efficient outing for Creamline and dropped a game-high 21-point performance built from 18 successful attacks.
Gumabao was also dominant in the offensive department and contributed 19 markers derived from 17 successful attacks alongside two blocks.
