Courtesy: pvl.ph
STUNG by a shock second set defeat Farm Fresh won in wire-to-wire fashion, Creamline endured an erratic outing as it scrambled for 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory to pull ahead of the pack in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elims at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan on Tuesday.
The Cool Smashers yielded 30 unforced errors, including 11 that helped enable the gutsy Foxies to draw level after two sets. But they checked their skid in the swing set although the defending champions still needed to fight their way in the fourth to frustrate their rivals and keep their unblemished slate at 4-0.
“Masyadong marami ang errors namin, so talagang hindi maganda ang nilaro namin,” rued Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses while citing the Foxies’ strong potential. “But Farm Fresh is a promising team. They shouldn’t be taken lightly, lalaban at lalaban sila.”
They did. After blowing a 14-10 lead in the fourth, the Foxies fought back from 17-21 down and put the Cool Smashers on pins and needles, 22-23, on a successful net touch challenge against Jema Galanza and a Creamline miscue that ended a long exchange of power hits, digs and saves.
But playmaker Kyle Negrito all but crushed the Foxies’ hopes with a clever 1-2 play and Pangs Panaga clinched it for Creamline with a power tip as the Foxies clambered trying to keep the ball in play, to no avail.
“We really have to go back to our system, keep on working, keep on trying,” said Michele Gumabao, who led Creamline’s assault again with a 20-point showing, including 18 on attacks.
Despite their miscues, 11 more than what the Foxies had made, the heavy-hitting ace believes they would settle down in time for the tough grind.
“We know our mistakes, so we all know how to go about them. It’s just a question of adjustments,” added Gumabao, who also took notice of the young Farm Fresh squad’s promise.
“Makikita mo na iisa sila gumalaw. They’re a team and coming from one system,” said Gumabao. “But we still have to focus on ourselves. Nag focused kami sa galaw ng kalaban at nawala kami. May time na nagmamadali kaya nawala sa sistema. So, it’s back to basics.”
Galanza backed her up with 18 points, the last a full-contact kill that made it 23-20 for Creamline in the fourth, Tots Carlos delivered 14 markers in a three-set stint and Bernadette Pons finished with nine, including three of the team’s last six points.
Trisha Tubu fired 19 points while Kate Santiago and Pia Ildefonso added 15 and 12 points, respectively, for Farm Fresh, which has been dishing out big sets in their previous matches while still trying to find the killer blow that would merit a spot in the win column.
The Foxies fell to 0-5. pvl.ph
