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Coach Sherwin Meneses’ steadfast trust in the team’s bench players throughout the finals series highlighted the depth and strength that propelled Creamline to the All-Filipino crown via another title sweep.
His tactical substitutions in the fifth set paid off as Michele Gumabao, Pangs Panaga and Alyssa Valdez delivered in the clutch while the Flying Titans’ starters crumbled in the face of the Cool Smashers’ fightback after a fine display of guts and hunger in the fourth and an early run in the fifth to seize a 6-3 advantage.
But no lead is safe against Cool Smashers and the Flying Titans learned it the most bitter way as Creamline roared back to tie it at 9 on a costly Regine Arocha service miscue. Gumabao and Panaga then scored two points apiece and Valdez, who didn’t see action in the second to fourth sets, came out virtually fresh in the decider, firing five points, the last two dashing whatever hopes the Flying Titans had in pursuit of a first win in 11 face-offs with the Cool Smashers.
Creamline earlier won the series’ opener, 25-23, 19-25, 26-24, 25-22.
Half of the crowd of 24,459 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, a new record in Philippine volleyball, erupted in deafening roars as Bernadette Pons wrapped up the crucial third set battle after a Creamline successful defense on Sisi Rondina’s power blast.
But the other half also burst into screams as Choco Mucho forced the decider and hollered more as the Flying Titans raced to a 6-3 lead in the fifth in a celebration that however proved short-lived.
The mammoth crowd surpassed the 22,843 fans who watched the UAAP Season 78 finals between La Salle and Ateneo in 2016.
“It’s the love for each other. Ayaw naming masayang ang pagod namin,” said a teary-eyed Jema Galanza, who clinched game’s top honors with a 21-point performance. “Our mindset was to play it one point at a time, hindi nakukuha sa mabilisan ang lahat.”
Truly, the Cool Smashers worked for every play and for every point to get back into the match with Valdez bucking a couple of foiled attacks with three straight hits and Risa Sato scoring on a quick attack and Galanza adding two more hits to force an 8-all count in the fifth.
But it was all worth the challenge as Creamline completed its amazing 15-game sweep of the season-ending conference, their second All-Filipino crown in the season as the Cool Smashers added another chapter to the franchise’s storied success in women’s volley.
It was Creamline’s seventh PVL championship – and a second straight All-Filipino feat after turning back Petro Gazz in sudden death last March. More importantly, its romp mirrored the team’s Open Conference successful title-retention drive in 2019 where the Cool Smashers won all their 20 games.
Creamline also scored a perfect campaign in last year’s Open Conference.
Tots Carlos topscored for Creamline with 26 points while Pons and Panaga came up with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Valdez wound up with eight markers and Gumabao pumped in five clutch points and Lorie Roberto added four points in the two-hour, 40-minute victory that also dashed Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin’s hopes for a double after steering National U to a stirring victory over fancied Cignal in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference finals last Friday.
Rondina sizzled with a personal-high 33 points, including 29 on attacks, and went on to capture the MVP honors, while Maddie Madayag and Kat Tolentino finished with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Bea de Leon, Caitlyn Viray, and Arocha scored six points apiece.
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