Celine Domingo and the Creamline Cool Smashers. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Celine Domingo sustained her fine showing from the past few months to jumpstart Creamline’s Grand Slam bid in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
Brimming with confidence from their fruitful stints in the Invitationals and internationally, Domingo unleashed 17 points, including the finishing touches in the fourth set, to lift Creamline past PLDT, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20. 26-24, on Thursday at Philsports Arena.
The vastly-improved middle blocker, who had 11 attacks, three blocks, and three aces, said she wants to keep on thriving for the Cool Smashers.
“I am continuing what I started (in the past tournaments) and I guess, I am just embracing the role and responsibility given to me,” said Domingo in Filipino after she conspired with Alyssa Valdez and Turkish Yeliz Basa to lead the team.
The 23-year-old Far Eastern University standout played instrumental in Creamline’s second title run this season when she led the team in the Invitational Conference final against KingWhale Taipei and became the Finals MVP.
The 5-foot-9 blocker also made a good account of herself on the international stage when the Cool Smashers sans Valdez represented the national team and finished sixth in the AVC Cup for Women in Manila before settling for a last-place finish in the Asean Grand Prix in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
“It was a big part of my (improvement). Because we’ve been going up against stronger teams, taller teams, faster teams. That’s why I am carrying all the learnings from playing in international tournaments going to this conference,” Domingo said.
Besides the confidence she gained from their past campaigns, Domingo also credited the trust and teamwork of Creamline.
“I’m really happy that everyone is very supportive. Our communication inside the court is always there so it’s not hard for me to contribute,” she said.
Domingo seeks to keep her improvement going as Creamline’s road to ‘three-peat’ continues with a 2019 Reinforced finals rematch against defending champion Petro Gazz on Tuesday.