CREAMLINE and Petro Gazz fought through the pain and gain of another epic battle that has marked majority of their encounters that led to four championship face-offs with the Cool Smashers pulling off a frenetic come-from-behind 25-22, 23-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-13 victory over the Angels to firm up their semifinal drive in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
In a match that dragged late into the night Thursday, the Cool Smashers recovered from a sorry setback in a chaotic finish in the swing set that took 40 minutes to finish with an eternity of challenges marking its endgame. They then forced the decider with a crippling 7-0 close-out in the fourth frame behind Bernadette Pons.
They sustained that run in the sprint set, storming to leads of as many as five, 9-4, as Tots Carlos stepped up and backed Pons in offense in a run aided by a couple of Petro Gazz miscues.
But the Angels crawled their way back into the match behind Grethcel Soltones, Jonah Sabete and Aiza Pontillas, whose wily dropball pulled the team back in the hunt at 10-11.
But Jema Galanza defused the threat with a through-the-block hit and Pangs Panaga foiled Pontillas’ attack in the ensuing play to give the Cool Smashers a three-point cushion.
Sabete then soared with a tough angled hit that produced a point that, however, proved costly as she sustained a slight injury at landing, forcing her to sit out the rest of the match grimacing in pain.
A Remy Palma service miscue then put the Cool Smashers at match point and though the Angels lived through another play on a Creamline error setting, Carlos anchored a basic offensive thrust and delivered her 16th point in the form of a kill that wrapped up the classic encounter.
The defending champions thus staved off an impending fall from atop the leaderboard as they stretched their win run to five and stay as the lone unbeaten squad among the record 12-team field. They also dealt the Angels, whom they edged in sudden death in the first All-Filipino finals last March, their second loss against four wins. pvl.ph
