The Creamline Cool Smashers moved one win away from the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference gold medal match after a 25-17, 25-15, 25-22 blowout over the Cignal HD Spikers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday, August 8.
Jia de Guzman continued her late-conference surge with a huge 26-excellent set tally in just three frames while Tots Carlos squeezed in 21 points in that same span.
After two forgettable set losses, the HD Spikers’ fightback came just a little too late in the third as they started with an 8-5 lead.
However, Creamline rose right back and broke away from an 11-all tie with a 6-2 run, capped by a De Guzman block on Jerrili Malabanan.
Cignal only got as near as 2, 22-24, before Ced Domingo ended the game with an emphatic kill for the win.
“It was a sudden shift. We just learned yesterday that Cignal was our new opponent, so we had no time to prepare. But of course, we never rested from training, so we still had a great outcome,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses in Filipino.
The Cool Smashers were supposed to face the Philippine national team before the entire 12-woman core of the NU Lady Bulldogs was pulled out by school higher-ups.
Cignal, which was also supposed to face KingWhale Taipei before the last-minute change, failed to adjust accordingly, and were only led by 8 points each from Ces Molina and Roselyn Doria.
For now, Creamline will get first dibs at facing KingWhale on Friday, August 12, 4 pm, before Cignal gets its turn on Saturday, August 13, 4 pm.
