Creamline looked done.
The Cool Smashers got smoked in the fourth set and entered the decider reeling from the momentum built by the Petro Gazz Angels late Thursday evening in Game 2 of the PVL All-Filipino Cup that they couldn’t afford to lose.
And then Bernadeth Pons remembered something.
“We were reminded before this game that we should never give up this fight until the end,” she said.
When the decider rolled around, the Cool Smashers showed why they had endured as a PVL dynasty for so long, hammering out a 25-16, 16-25, 25-12, 15-25, 15-9 victory that allowed the 10-time PVL champions to forge what should be an epic do-or-die Game 3.
Pons finished with a game-high 22 points, notably logging four of those in the fifth set to guarantee another playdate for Creamline. Pangs Panaga and Jema Galanza contributed crucially to that effort, foiling Petro Gazz’s plans of celebrating a franchise-first all-Filipino title.
“After the fourth set, we just focused on the 15 points that we needed in the fifth. We just stuck together, and this was the result,” said Galanza, who tallied 13 points capped by an ace at match point.
Libero Kyla Atienza was likewise stellar at protecting Creamline’s floor with 18 receptions and 16 digs, as the Cool Smashers’ drive for a fifth straight conference title remains alive.
“We’re glad that we were able to bounce back. This series is not yet done,” said Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses.
The win, quite coincidentally, deprived Creamline’s sister team, Choco Mucho, of an outright bronze medal.
Sisi Rondina again sparkled, and the Flying Titans lifted Choco Mucho out of a rut and got back at the Akari Chargers, 25-18, 25-22, 27-29, 25-19, in Game 2 of their battle for the bronze.
Had the Angels seized the crown in the second game, the Flying Titans would have been declared third placers automatically.
Instead, it will be a double no-tomorrow match on Saturday.
“I told my teammates that we can steal this series, we just have to work harder,” said Rondina after the match at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We shouldn’t stop and think about what happened to our team [in missing the finals].”
Double the effort
The fearless Choco Mucho hitter bludgeoned the Chargers with 25 attacks out of her 26 points as the Flying Titans take some sort of psychological edge heading into Saturday’s Game 3 at PhilSports Arena.
“[O]ur goal remains the same—a podium finish at all costs,” Rondina said. “A podium is a podium, we will work doubly hard for it.”
Royse Tubino backstopped Rondina with 17 points, 15 of them off attacks.
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Pons’ attack off a combination play broke the last deadlock at 5 in the fifth, after which she added two more points, 8-6, sparking a celebration in the predominant Creamline section.
“We will go all out in Game 3. That’s for sure. There will be no more games left after that,” said Pons.
