Cool Smashers stay hot, near grand sweep

MANILA,Philippines — Creamline kept its hot run going in pursuit of a grand sweep, blasting PetroGazz in the opening frame, rallying from six points down in the next then outlasting the Angels in a thrilling, extended third set to pound out a 25-14, 25-22, 27-25 victory in Game One of the PVL Open Conference Finals at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan last night.

Blessed with a slew of power hitters, the Cool Smashers baffled the Angels with a variety of scoring options with playmaker Jia Morado going to their outside or opposite hitters in Alyssa Valdez, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao and at times at the middle for quick attacks as they kept their domination of their Reinforced Conference title tormentors.

Valdez finished with 19 points, including two aces, while drawing solid support from Galanza, Gumabao and the rest of the Cool Smashers, who stretched their win run to 19, including two over Motolite in the Final Four. And they’re one victory away from completing a first-ever sweep of an entire conference.

“My mindset is to really give my all, given the sacrifices of my teammates who continued to keep on fighting,” said Valdez, who missed five games due to an injury and a training stint with the national team priming up for the SEA Games.

The Cool Smashers shoot for the rare feat on Saturday.