Valdez: After finals, volleyball a big winner too

Alyssa Valdez: Finals MVP. —PVL

MANILA, Philippines — Creamline won the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference Crown, with its two top gunners also taking home top individual awards.

Alyssa Valdez, however, thinks the tournament had an even bigger winner.

“I’m very happy for volleyball itself,” said Valdez, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) after the Cool Smashers’ title-clinching 25-18, 15-25, 25-23, 25-16 win over the Petro Gazz Angels late Friday. “It’s just so nice that this is probably the biggest comeback in sports.”

As sports crawled out of the lockdown imposed to help curb the rising infections at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, eventually bringing along fans to the stands, it was volleyball that drew the biggest crowd in the pandemic era—16,687 fans during a semifinal match at Mall of Asia Arena, where Creamline snagged a Finals berth.

“We’re very thankful for the fans, they’re all here, cheering and supporting us,” added Valdez.

Thrilling encounters

Creamline rewarded their supporters with a pair of thrilling encounters, taking Game 1 against the hard-fighting Petro Gazz squad, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12, 32-30.

“We’re just happy to welcome everyone and I’m really thankful no matter who is their idol or the team they support, they are here to support the sport,” added Valdez.

The former Ateneo star had the luxury of having a deeper support cast this year, which Creamline totally flaunted. Tots Carlos was named MVP of the tournament while Jema Galanza keyed a crucial stretch in Game 2’s decisive fourth set to cement the Cool Smashers’ crown.

“I learned a lot from this experience; I think, this is just the start,” said Carlos, who averaged 20.7 points going into the finals.

As far as Carlos just touching off what is expected to be a decorated career, Valdez totally agrees.

“This just the beginning for Tots,” said Valdez.

Creamline, however, was more than just the sum of its top three scorers. The Cools Smashers’ ran their offense through playmaker Jia de Guzman and got key contributions from the likes of Cel Domingo and Jeanette Panaga.

‘Family’

“This is what makes it really special, we all worked hard for this,” said the jump-serving Carlos. “After falling short of our bid last year, we really wanted to redeem ourselves. We all stayed focused on our training.

“We are one big family in this team. We are very open and we have one common goal—help each other.”

“We needed to be prepared mentally and physically,” Valdez added. “We needed to stay in top condition and we’re so grateful to our coaches, they all did what they needed to do—in training and in actual games.

“My goal is to help win the team championship.”

And, perhaps, to help the sporting population get back on its feet.

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