Creamline makes short work of Army for 2nd straight win

MANILA – The Creamline Cool Smashers cruised to their fifth win in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference after battering the Army-Black Mamba. 

Creamline scored a 25-15, 25-20, 25-12 sweep of Army on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena to tighten its grip of the top spot in the league standings.

The Cool Smashers, who played without Alyssa Valdez and Jema Galanza, improved their record to 5-1 while the Lady Troopers suffered their fifth straight loss in as many outings. 

Tots Carlos paced her team with 17 points built on 14 attacks, two blocks, and an ace. 

Creamline never had a problem in the match and dominated in the third set where they built an early 9-3 gap, including an uncharacteristic spike from veteran setter Jia de Guzman – much to the delight of her teammates and the crowd. 

De Guzman showed more of her offense as she made it a 12-5 game with another push. The lead ballooned to 10 as Kyle Negrito went for an ace, 17-7. 

The second stringers took over in the ensuing plays and successfully protected their wide gap with Rizza Mandapat tallying several points. 

In the second set, Creamline pulled away early as Michele Gumabao sparked an 8-2 run with a down-the-line hit for an 11-6 lead. 

Army threatened to equalize the game with a string of points capped by an attack of Royse Tubino, 10-11, but De Guzman dropped a placing shot to halt their opponent’s run. 

The Cool Smashers answered back as Gumabao scored off the blockers’ hands for an 18-13 space. Army tried to make a last-minute spurt with Jeanette Villareal making her presence felt at the net, closing in at 20-22. 

But they also committed back-to-back errors before Carlos hammered a down-the-line spike to end the set.