Taking down Choco Mucho has become a force of habit for defending champion Creamline.
The Cool Smashers continued their mastery over the Flying Titans, carving out a resounding straight-set victory, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19, in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference inside the jam-packed Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday night.
The sweep did not just extend the win streak of Creamline over Choco Mucho to 12 victories since the latter joined the league in 2019. It also strengthened their position in the Final Four frame with an 8-2 record, good for just a second.
But more importantly for team captain Alyssa Valdez, the triumph gave them a much-needed confidence as a unit.
“Aside from the boost sa morale rin namin getting that win against Choco Mucho. I think it’s more of, sabi nga namin, we’re really trying to find our way back most especially na nagsa-struggle kami during the first part of this conference,” said Valdez, who had 11 points and 10 digs in the win.
“So malaking tulong ‘tong game namin sa Choco Mucho para ma-settle down kami ng konti and to really bring back the fire and the hunger to win and to play better.”
The Cool Smashers faced unbridled pressure heading into the marquee bout with the Flying Titans, as a loss could have dimmed their semis chances in a tight Final Four race.
Valdez said that she and the rest of the team encouraged each other to accomplish the daunting task at hand.
“Well, I guess, we talked about patience all the time in our team. We talked about not being pressured all the time. ‘Yun talaga battlecry namin. I guess iba rin talaga ‘yung motivation na kapag andoon ka sa point ng stage ng conference namin na may kailangan kaming kuhanin,” the three-time league MVP said.
“Nagkakaroon talaga kami ng konting motivation, ng konting push na hindi namin bibitawan ‘yung chance na meron pa kami kasi sabi nga ni Coach Sherwin [Meneses]nasa kamay namin ‘yung chance kung makakapasok ba kami sa second round.”
Still, the job is far from finished for the Cool Smashers, who are seeking to kick their title-retention drive into higher gear by securing a semis berth in the final stretch of the preliminaries.
“This win, we’ll take it today, tomorrow is another day. The job is not done yet. It’s going to be a long eliminations pa kahit one game nalang natitira sa amin, hindi magiging madali,” Valdez said.
With a Final Four ticket in sight, Valdez and the Cool Smashers are bent on taking down fellow contenders PLDT High Speed Hitters on April 25, Thursday.
