THE Creamline Cool Smashers outlasted the Choco Mucho Titans, 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21, to open their stint in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on a winning note on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bernadette Pons fired in 22 points and backed her explosive offensive game with 11 excellent digs and seven receptions to earn the top player of the game honors.
Michele Gumabao also had a superb outing with 20 markers, highlighted by four thundering blasts in the fourth set that helped the Cool Smashers break from a tight 17-16 count and claim a 23-17 lead and post their ninth straight victory over the Flying Titans in their head-to-head duel.
Earlier, Cignal banked on Ces Molina as it subdued PLDT, 25-16, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, and Nxled marked its league debut with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 romp over Gerflor.
“We kind of relaxed in the third set but recovered in the fourth since we really wanted to win this game,” said Pons, referring to their lackluster showing in the third that foiled their sweep bid against their sister team in a highly-anticipated duel watched by more than 14,000 spectators.
Jema Galanza unleashed an 11-point game while Pangs Panaga added nine markers and Risa Sato, Alyssa Valdez and Kyle Negrito combined for 12 points for the defending champions, who hardly felt the absence of ace playmaker Jia de Guzman, who is now suiting up in the Japan V. League.
In a rare reserve role, skipper and former MVP Valdez delivered four key hits in the last two frames as the Cool Smashers overpowered the Sisi Rondina-led Flying Titans, 66-51, although the latter controlled the net with seven blocks, three more than the former.
The high-flying Cebuana, Rondina poured in 21 points while Caitlyn Viray, Des Cheng and Cherry Nunag backed her up with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.