Creamline survived a late fourth set scare from Army to get back on the winning track, 25-12, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The semifinals-bound Cool Smashers watched their four-point lead in the fourth frame melt away as the also-ran Lady Troopers went on a scorching offensive tear behind Canadian import Laura Condotta.
With Creamline in danger of falling into another deciding set game following a sorry loss to F2 Logistics in five sets in their previous outing, veterans Tots Carlos, Celine Domingo and Jema Galanza reacted quickly to quell Army's uprising and complete the Cool Smashers' bounce back win
Grand slam-seeking Creamline improved to a 6-1 win-loss record to take the solo lead before wrapping up its eliminations campaign on Thursday against Choco Mucho.
"This conference has really been unpredictable. You can never say how you will play inside the court, especially with teams having high-caliber imports leading them. Hopefully, we can improve in our next games," Cool Smashers coach Sherwin Meneses said.
Turkish reinforcement Yeliz Basa, who was subbed out in the fourth set when Army mounted a fightback, led Creamline with 18 points with 16 coming off attacks.
Domingo made a living off quick attacks to finish with 16 points while Galanza had a triple-double of 14 points with all but two off kills, 23 excellent receptions and 11 digs for the Cool Smashers.
Carlos had seven points off the bench while skipper Alyssa Valdez had a quiet outing of five points playing in just three sets for Creamline.