Creamline’s Jema Galanza. -PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Jema Galanza is always ready to deliver both on offense and defense for Creamline in their bid to win a second straight championship this 2022 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
The former league MVP unloaded 23 points as Creamline clinched a spot to the next round with a 25-14, 25-20, 21-25, 28-26 victory over the also-ran Chery Tiggo on Thursday at San Juan Arena.
Galanza unconsciously tallied her conference-best in scoring as she was determined is to contribute and make life easier for the Cool Smashers.
“My mindset every game is to do it all for my team, points, defense, receive, block or anything that will make the game easier for my teammates,” said Galanza in Filipino. “I didn’t expect to score a lot of points tonight. But it was a result of our great teamwork.”
Already assured of the next round after winning four of their first five games, Creamline closes out its first round stint against Army Black Mamba on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
It will be a no-bearing game for Creamline as the top four local teams joining Kobe Shinwa University of Japan and KingWhale Taipei will play in another single-round robin, where the two best squads will advance to the winner-take-all final on August 14.
But Galanza remains eager to finish strong and build a strong momentum heading to the next round.
“We don’t want to end the round with a loss. We want to keep our momentum going,” she said.
Army Black Mamba, which is tied with PLDT at 3-2, has to win or at least force a five-setter to advance to the next round. Choco Mucho (2-3), which battles Petro Gazz at 5:30 p.m., needs the help of its sister team, Creamline, to sweep the match for a chance to qualify.
But the Cool Smashers coach Sherwin Meneses said they have nothing to do with the other teams’ standings, keeping their focus on their progress.
“We want to win every game regardless of our opponents and the situation. We’re not looking at the standings of other teams. It’s not our problem. We will just play our game and improve our performance from our last game,” said Meneses in Filipino.
Galanza hopes the Cool Smashers to stay healthy in the remainder of the midseason tournament as several players from most of the teams have entered the health and safety protocols.
“We will just focus on our team and improving our game as individuals and as a team. We’re being cautious every day because we have to stay healthy and complete until the end of the tournament,” she said.