Creamline survives scare vs Army

BACARRA, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — Creamline went to Alyssa Valdez in the fifth and last set as it survived an upset-conscious Black Mamba Army, 20-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-19, 15-13, last night to seize the solo lead in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference at the PCV Socio-Civic & Cultural Center here.

The power-hitting Valdez came through when her team needed it most, unloading a big kill that broke a 13-all count as the Cool Smashers fought back from a 1-2 set deficit and 3-9 in the deciding set to seize the solo lead with a pristine 3-0 (win-loss) record.

“Iniisip namin is to really just get one point. I think every point counts nung last, last few remaining, nung fifth set. Yun lang naman iniisip namin,” said Valdez, who finished with 20 points.

The game also produced a lot of heroes, including Tots Carlos and Kyle Negrito.

Carlos, who provided the spark off the bench in her team’s 24-26, 28-26, 25-22, 25-20 win over Petro Gazz last Tuesday, started this time and unleashed a game-high 26 hits, including 24 kills.

Negrito, for her part, relieved starting setter Jia Morado early in the fifth and was instrumental in willing the Cool Smashers back from a six-point deficit.

Creamline assistant coach Sherwin Meneses lauded Army, which fell to 1-2, for its perseverance.

“Army hindi bibitaw yan talaga, syempre experienced na yan,” said Meneses.

Kept off the court for a week, Perlas finally gets the chance to come out of its shell and launch its campaign against Petro Gazz on Sunday.

Though no one from among the players and coaches tested positive for COVID-19 since they entered the bubble, the Perlas Spikers’ games were deferred as the league moved them to isolation rooms individually to ensure their health and safety. A member of the team yielded a positive result days before the inaugurals of the country’s first-ever pro league.

But after undergoing quarantine, all members yielded negative RT-PCR test results, paving the way for the team’s stint and thus completing the 10-team cast chasing the top four places in the single round elims.