PLDT remains unbeaten, Creamline scores first victory

PLDT made quick work of Galeries Tower, 25-19, 25-16, 25-17, to remain unbeaten for a share of the lead in Pool A of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Russian import Elena Samoilenko unleashed 14 points she collected from 11 kills and three kill blocks in the High Speed Hitters’ second win in as many outings to tie Chery Tiggo on top of the standings.

Meanwhile, Creamline recovered from a set down to overcome upset-conscious Farm Fresh, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-16, and barge in the win column of Pool A after a sorry opening-day loss.

The Cool Smashers shook off a rusty start in a game that saw the club play their second straight match sans injured veteran wingers Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos. Also out were Alas Pilipinas members setter Jia Morado-De Guzman and Jema Galanza.

Creamline made a couple of crucial rallies in the closing stretch of the second and third sets that set the tone for a dominating fourth frame to claim their first win in the mid-season tournament.

American import Erica Staunton dropped 26 points off 23 kills and three kill blocks she spiked with 19 excellent receptions for the Cool Smashers, who rained down 66 attack points – 11 more than the Foxies’ total.

Creamline used an 8-2 closing run in the second frame to steal the set and tie the match at 1-1 following a first set meltdown where it allowed Farm Fresh to draw first blood.

The Cool Smashers went down, 19-21, in third set but exploded with a finishing 6-0 barrage to shift the momentum on their side.        

“Happy for our first victory. Hopefully, it will be a start of our winning run and fuel our momentum. We’re missing a lot of players but we have a strong team. I guess we just need to win one game to get us going. We just need to work hard in our next games,” Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses said as he celebrated his 42^nd birthday with a victory.

Michele Gumabao posted 21 points with 19 coming off kills, Jeanette Panaga got 12 markers while Bernadeth Pons added nine for the Cool Smashers.    

The Foxies absorbed their second loss in as many game despite the 26-point outing of Colombian import Yeny Montoya.

Meanwhile, Fiola Ceballos scored 10 markers while Erika Santos added nine in just two sets of action in the one-hour, 33-minute clobbering of winless Highrisers.

“Happy that we got the win and happy that our second stringers also performed well,” PLDT coach Rald Ricafort said.

Majoy Baron had eight points while Mika Reyes finished with six for the High Speed Hitters.

Andrea Marzan was the only Galeries Tower player to reach double-figure scoring with 11 points while Thai import Sutadta Chuewulim got seven in the club’s second defeat in as many starts.