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| Bernadeth Pons is happy to see Creamline back in the semis. PVL |
MANILA––Creamline recovered from a third-set stumble to snag the last semifinals ticket at the expense of Akari, 25-23, 25-20, 16-25, 25-16, in the PVL All-Filipino Conference play-in tournament last Tuesday at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan City.
Taking the first two sets, the Cool Smashers faltered in the third but came alive in the fourth to complete a 3-1 victory en route to their 20th consecutive semifinal appearance.
Allysa Valdez led the charge for Creamline as she finished with 20 points, along with 19 excellent digs and eight excellent receptions.
“I’m speechless. We’ve been through so much as a team – a lot of struggles and challenges – but little by little, we still found a way to reach the semifinals,” said Valdez.
The Cool Smashers were forced to play a fourth set after fumbling in the third.
However, they had no plans of giving up another set as they rode a 6-0 run in the fourth to take an early 12-4 lead.
Bea De Leon then scored a running kill and a one-two dump from Kyle Negrito that extended the Creamline's cushion to 23-13.
Akari, however, refused to give up easily as they saved three match points, but Grethcel Soltones failed to send her serve across the net, which sealed the deal for the Cool Smashers.
Bernadeth Pons and Pangs Panaga also contributed for Creamline with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Power Chargers, on the other hand, were carried by Ivy Lacsamana and Fifi Sharma, who combined for 25 points in the losing effort.
