Creamline stars Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA, Philippines – Creamline has secured the number one seed in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference rankings.
The Cool Smashers endured a mighty challenge from Galeries, especially in Set 2, en route to a three-set 25-15, 26-24, 25-19 triumph on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
"Siyempre, masaya ulit [kasi] nag-rank one kami. I think may konting advantage kasi lower rank 'yung makakalaban mo," said coach Sherwin Meneses in the postgame press conference.
Meneses' wards avenged their loss just this Saturday against the Savi Davison-led PLDT, where they lost in five sets, denying their bid for a reverse sweep.
Former PVL MVPs Tots Carlos and Alyssa Valdez shone the brightest this time, leading the Creamline firepower in the one-hour, 47-minute volleyball match.
Carlos notched a game-high 18 points on 16 attacks, one service ace, and a block, while Valdez had 16 points anchored on 15 attacks and a block.
READ: PVL: PLDT denies Creamline's reverse sweep bid to halt Cool Smashers' 9-game win streak
After the Cool Smashers breezed past Galeries in the opener, the Highrisers put forth a test to the formidable Creamline in the next and led by as much as eight, 19-11, in a surprise offensive showing for the Lerma Giron-mentored squad.
READ: PVL: Galanza stars as Creamline sweeps Farm Fresh for 9th-straight victory
But that separation was short-lived, as Carlos and Valdez connived to trim that separation down off their sharp spikes.
Valdez finally gave the Cool Smashers the driver's seat after a crosscourt kill, 23-22, and the set point off a block point, 24-22.
But the Highrisers had another fight in them, as Jho Maraguinot and Andrea Marzan levelled the match at 24-apiece.
The Carlos-Valdez show then continued, as the star spikers made sure to put a period on the chapter, clinching respective kills to close out the extended frame, 26-24.
In the latter part of the final canto, the Highrisers would even score three from the 23-16 mark, but an attack error from their side put the Cool Smashers on the verge of victory, 24-19, and Pau Soriano fired the game-winning attack to seal the top seed entering the qualifying round.
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