Creamline survives Chery Tiggo but…

Games Thursday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

2:30 p.m. –– Chery Tiggo vs Creamline

5:30 p.m. –– Cignal vs Petro Gazz

Creamline saw its grand slam bid end after the third set but still kept its composure to salvage some sense of pride with a hard-earned 25-16, 20-25, 14-25, 25-11, 15-9, win over Chery Tiggo at the close of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference round robin semifinals at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Tuesday night.

The Crossovers snapped the Cool Smashers' seven straight championship stint with a shocking win in the second and third frames that officially knocked Creamline out of the Finals race.

Defending champion Petro Gazz got its prayer answered as it needed Chery Tiggo to get at least two sets for it to claim the right to face Cignal in the best-of-three championship by virtue of a higher tiebreak.

Game 1 of the finals is on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The beginning of the end for Creamline's dream started midway in the third set when it allowed Chery Tiggo to make a 15-3 run to steal the frame.

The Cool Smashers, Angels and HD Spikers ended up in a three-way tie at 2-1. However, Petro Gazz and Cignal collected a total of six points while Creamline only got five following a five-set result.

Despite this, the Cool Smashers went on to at least gain momentum ahead of their best-of-three battle for bronze against the Crossovers.

"It's weird. It's kinda weird na even if we won the game, unfortunately we weren't able to get into the Finals. But, we have to finish it. We have to respect the game, and the whole Creamline team did that," Creamline skipper Alyssa Valdez said.

"So I'm actually proud of the team also. And it's not over yet. I mean, we're also given this opportunity also to reflect on ourselves, on our team, and that's a very good thing for us. It's been a while since it happened. So we take it as a challenge also," she added.

Turkish import Yeliz Basa scored 27 points off 22 kills, three aces and two kill blocks to lead Creamline. Valdez had 18 points and 11 digs while Jema Galanza chipped in 12 markers and 18 excellent receptions for the Cool Smashers.

Down, 10-11, in the third set, Chery Tiggo built a strong wall at the net to frustrate Creamline's hitters scoring five kill blocks in a telling run that ruined the Cool Smashers' dreams.

Mylene Paat scored five of her 15 points on kill blocks to lead the Crossovers, who had 14 kill blocks in the game.

Montenegrin import Jelena Cvijovic had 13 points, Czarina Carandang git 12 while Shaya Adorador had 10 markers and 12 excellent receptions for Chery Tiggo, which closed the elims winless in three games.