Creamline and Petro Gazz warmed up for their much-awaited showdown by downing their respective rivals Monday in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Creamline Cool Smashers leaned heavily on the crafty plays of playmaker Jia Morado-De Guzman on the way to scoring a 25-12, 25-21, 25-16 victory over the BaliPure Water Defenders while the Petro Gazz Angels downed the PLDT High Speed Hitters, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-18.
Their victories made their battle on Wednesday doubly significant since the No. 1 team in each group will earn twice to beat advantage in the quarters.
Morado-De Guzman produced a 14-excellent set performance to anchor the Cool Smashers’ romp and clinch the best player of the game honors.
But the rest of the star-studded roster put in their share to remain the only squad in the nine-team field that has yet to drop a set.
The Angels also came out a bit better than the High Speed Hitters in an error-filled, one-hour, 58-minute duel, finishing with just two slips less than their rivals after they combined for 70 miscues.
“It was an ugly win,” rued Petro Gazz coach Jerry Yee. “But it’s nice to win in that fashion.”
The two teams actually fought it out in spurts and close all throughout with Petro Gazz scoring 44 attack points, just one better than PLDT.
The Angels also produced seven blocks and aces against their rivals’ five in both departments.
But the Angels proved steadier in the last two frames, squeezing out a tough win in the third frame and then breaking away from a 15-13 count in the fourth behind a closing 10-5 binge aided by the High Speed Hitters’ miscues.
Nicole Tiamzon led the Angels’ assault with 13 points, including 12 on attacks, MJ Phillips unloaded eight spikes and finished with 11 points while Jonah Sabete backed them up with 10 points, including three aces.
PLDT produced 91 excellent digs against Petro Gazz’s 65 and posted 31 excellent sets, including 23 from veteran Rhea Dimaculangan, against Petro Gazz’s 24, including 20 from Chi Saet. But the High Speed Hitters struggled big-time trying to convert them into points to the chagrin of coach George Pascua.
