Creamline showed offensive strength in dumping Air Force, 25-23, 25-20, 25-15, on Sunday to jumpstart its title-retention campaign in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.
Eyeing a third crown overall, the Cool Smashers survived an opening-set challenge before dominating the next two frames for their first win in the conference.
Michele Gumabao fired all her 14 points on attacks while Alyssa Valdez chipped in 13 points built on 10 spikes, two aces and one block to spearhead Creamline, which also spoiled Air Force’s comeback from a short hiatus.
“It was a slow start for us. The pace was not our usual, but we tried to correct the mistakes we made in the first set and focused on our game (to recover),” said Gumabao.
The returning Air Force waxed hot in the first set, attacking the net with strong spikes led by Dell Palomata as Creamline stumbled into errors.
But a quick adjustment from the Cool Smashers that saw Kyle Negrito setting for most parts of the frame further strengthened their offense.
The Lady Jet Spikers lost their steam in the third set, trailing by 13-7 and never recovered.
Risa Sato also spelled the difference for Creamline with 11 points while Jema Galanza added nine points.
Dell Palomata and May Ann Pantino scored 14 and 10 points for Air Force, which as been overpowered on attacks (48-38) and service aces (6-1).
-KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Games Wednesday
(The Arena, San Juan City)
2 p.m. – BaliPure vs Choco Mucho
4 p.m. – Creamline vs Motolite
6 p.m. – BanKo-Perlas vs Air Force
