Amid the chaos of a tightly-contested match between equally talented powerhouse squads, Creamline stuck to its tried and tested chemistry built on years of playing together.
The Cool Smashers displayed composure and nerves of steel to prevail over Chery Tiggo, 25-23, 20-25, 25-12, 32-30, in what could be their biggest test so far in Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference Saturday night at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.
Creamline saved five set points in the gripping race to the finish in the extended fourth set before finally sealing its fifth straight victory in as many games that propelled the grand slam-seeking squad into the Final Four
"We just displayed our heart of steel," Cool Smashers team captain Alyssa Valdez said.
"All the experiences I think from the AVC (Asian Cup for Women's), the Grand Prix, and all the (PVL) conferences before really helped us in this win."
The semis-bound Crossovers, desperate to preserve their five-game winning run, battled Creamline in a nip-and-tuck fourth set.
It was so intense and emotions were high that Valdez, who finished with 13 points and nine digs, was even waived with a yellow card after contesting a call.
The league's video challenge was suspended in the match following a confusion-marred game between Petro Gazz and PLDT.
"You can see the maturity and growth of our team," Valdez said.
"I can see in the eyes of my teammate that they really wanted to fight and finish the game. As one of the seniors of the team, I'm really proud of them."
Creamline shrugged off the questionable calls in the closing stretch and went on to claim the victory.
"We were talking by just looking at each other's eyes. I think that's the strength and the advantage of being together for quite a while. Coach (Sherwin Meneses) gave us very basic instructions but it's very effective," Valdez said.
With the win, the Cool Smashers are now the only undefeated team in the import-laden conference. Standing on Creamline's way from completing a sweep of the eliminations are F2 Logistics, Army and Choco Mucho.
"It's gonna be a big responsibility for us because after this big win against Chery Tiggo all the other teams will be preparing really well against us," Valdez said.
"We'll work harder definitely as expectations from ourselves, from our team are getting higher as we go deep this conference so we'll work harder and hopefully we balance the enjoyment, having fun, and being competitive."
