Shorthanded Creamline shoots for No. 10

Creamline puts its long unbeaten run on the line sans two key players while PacificTown Army and Motolite likewise try to keep their own streak going against struggling rivals in the second round of the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference eliminations at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan today.

The Cool Smashers will be without injured Alyssa Valdez for the second straight game, while Jia Morado joined the national pool’s campaign in the inaugural Asean Grand Prix in Thailand serving as part of the national team’s buildup for this year’s Southeast Asian Games.

The first serve is at 4 p.m.

But the defending champions remain formidable with Michele Gumabao, Jema Galanza, Risa Sato, Celine Domingo and Pau Soriano and libero Kyla Atienza in harness and Kyle Negrito taking over the playmaking chores in their bid to stretch their perfect romp to 10 games.

Creamline scored a straight-sets decision of BaliPure on Sept. 7, but the Water Defenders seek to pounce on Valdez and Morado’s absences in pursuit of a key victory that would keep them in the race for at least the fourth and last semifinal berth.

The Lady Troopers, meanwhile, bounced back strong from a shutout loss to the Cool Smashers on Sept. 4, beating the Chef’s Classics Red Spikers, the Water Defenders and the Air Force Jet Spikers to wheel back into contention with a 5-3 card.

The veteran-laden Army side remained in fifth spot but its three-game run put the Lady Troopers closer to fourth running PetroGazz (5-2).

That also makes PacificTown Army the heavy favorite in its 2 p.m. clash with Chef’s Classics, which remains winless in eight games.

Motolite, on the other hand, continues to flourish sans injured top hitter Myla Pablo, scoring back-to-back wins, including a five-set escape over Choco Mucho last weekend. It plays Air Force (2-6), which it also beat in three sets on Aug. 28, at 6 p.m.