PVL: Creamline secures Top 3 in Pool B after overcoming Chery Tiggo

MANILA, October 29 ------ Creamline has secured at least Top 3 finish in Pool B of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference by overcoming Chery Tiggo, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-17 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The win clinched the Cool Smashers' (3-2) their 10th point in the phase, emerging over Petro Gazz (3-2), which concluded this round with eight points after losing against league-leading and unbeaten Zus Coffee, 22-25, 21-25, 20-25, earlier in the day.

Ahead of them are the Thunderbelles (12 points) and Akari (9 points) with 4-0 and 3-1 records, respectively. But the Tuesday victory did not come easy, as the defending champs had to outgun the EV Crossovers in the closely fought Sets 2 and 3 before making quick work of the last set. To earn a 2-1 set lead, the Cool Smashers had to erase a 21-23 deficit late in the third frame, anchored on Tots Carlos and Kyle Negrito's collaboration on attacks and playmaking, capped by the setter's bold quick attack the Crossovers could not handle.

The Sherwin Meneses-coached squad unleashed an 8-4 start in Set 4 and kept things that way as the lead ballooned to 18-11 — after a gutsy Nica Celis running attack — and never looked back. "‘Yun naman ‘yung pinakaimportante eh, ‘yung maka-recover dun sa situation na medyo natatalo kami. ‘Yung situation na maka-recover kami sa two, three, and four [sets], napakalaking bagay," said coach Sherwin Meneses after the game. "Siyempre ‘yung total ng points ng team, distributed talaga ngayon so group effort ‘yung nangyari today. Thankful kami sa mga players na nag-contribute talaga sila sa game," he added.

Import Courtney Schwan had 29 points to lead all scorers, built on 25 attacks and four service aces, while Tots Carlos had 17 points and 20 excellent receptions, as Pangs Panaga manned the net with five kill blocks and had a total of 16 markers. "I think we’re still working out. We tried to do lineups tonight. We’re working on some things. I think everybody made an impact when they came in, so that was huge for us," said the American reinforcement.

Rookie Celis tallied five points and had significant playing minutes tonight, helping the team take the pivotal Set 4, while Negrito orchestrated their offense with 29 excellent sets and added four markers. Creamline had given up 28 errors but made up for it by edging out the Crossovers in the attack, 63-52, and had eight service aces; in contrast, their rivals only had one, courtesy of Pauline Gaston. Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo import Yunieska Batista had 22 points done mostly on attacks to lead her crew, while Cess Robles listed 11 points, and Mylene Paat had 10.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com