Tots Carlos leads Creamline to a bounce back win. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — With Creamline coming from a tough loss, Tots Carlos was happy to steer the Cool Smashers back to their winning ways with a 25-point explosion against Choco Mucho in front of 15, 237 fans at Mall of Asia Arena.
Carlos was nearly unstoppable, drilling 23 kills, one block and an ace as the Cool Smashers swept the undermanned Flying Titans, 25-22, 25-14, 25-22, in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational (PVL) Conference on Saturday.
Her motivation? Bringing back the good vibes to her team after their four-set loss to Cignal two days ago — their first defeat since last year’s Open Conference Finals.
“Personally, I really want to lift the morale of our team and so far. I’m really happy with the result. And I’m really happy that we saw the good vibes for Creamline’s part,” said Carlos in Filipino.
“We came from a loss. We really wanna bounce back this time and really win every game. Coach (Sherwin Meneses) reminded us that we are a champion team and we know better,” she added.
Choco Mucho threatened to extend the match with a 7-1 start in the third set. But Carlos nailed the timely hits to bring back the momentum to Creamline and earn its third win in four matches — a win away from clinching a semifinals berth.
“Choco mucho really played well with that set. they knew where to put the ball and service. And they really worked hard for their points. We stick to the basics and avoid making things complicated. Our coach really established a good system for our team and studied our opponent’s game,” she said.
The Cool Smashers pounced on the depleted Flying Titans, who missed their leading scorer Kat Tolentino, Des Cheng, Cherry Nunag, and Thang Ponce for the second straight game due to health issues as well as Aduke Ogunsanya after suffering an ACL injury.
The University of the Philippines standout said she was extra motivated by the crowd clad in pink and purple.
“I really love playing here at MOA. I’m so happy for Rebisco fans were united for the sport. We just had fun making the fans happy,” Carlos said. “We really appreciate them actually even me, I have friends that came from Laguna and Pampanga. We really need that to uplift Philippine Volleyball. We’re happy that they still watched our game even we’re still in the pandemic.”
Creamline only needs one win in its last two games against Chery Tiggo on Thursday and Army Black Mamba on Saturday to qualify to the next round with foreign squads from Japan and Taipei.