By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Creamline dismantled Army Black Mamba, 25-15, 25-20, 25-12, and firmed up its semis bid in the Premier Volleyball League All Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Despite being hampered by hamstring issues, Tots Carlos still led the team’s onslaught with 17 points, including 14 attacks and two aces for the Cool Smashers, whose victory improved their win-loss tally to 5-1.
“This game is actually a preparation for everyone kasi pataas nang pataas na yung level of games ng mga teams. Malaking boost of confidence itong panalo na to para samin and gusto pa naming ipagpatuloy to,” said Carlos.
The Cool Smashers trailed 15-14 in the opening frame before unleashing 10 straight points anchored on Pangs Panaga, Michele Gumabao and Carlos to take the set victory.
Army battled Creamline valiantly in the second frame but still fell short, before completely losing steam in the third that saw Creamline race to a commanding 12-5 lead and never looked back.
An ace from Rizza Mandapat and a crosscourt spike from Carlos sealed the team’s 78-minute match win that handed the Lady Troopers their fifth straight defeat.
Gumabao contributed 11 points while Rosemarie Vargas, Risa Sato and Jia De Guzman combined for 17 points.
In the other game, PLDT recovered from a second-set stumble to beat Akari, 25-14, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15, and hike its record to 4-1.
Mich Morente and Dell Palomata starred for the High Speed Hitters by firing 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Mika Reyes shone defensively by posting four blocks to finish with 10 points.
