Carlos leads late Creamline stand vs Army

An all-Filipino unit fueled Creamline in the fourth set. —PVL PHOTO

Just days after a five-set meltdown against a feared rival, Creamline found itself staring at an opponent clawing its way out of a two-set hole, ready to force a decider.

But with Jia De Guzman setting up clean targets for her spikers and Tots Carlos coming alive late in the fourth set, the Cool Smashers headed off winless but stubborn United Auctioneers Inc.-Army, 25-12, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Down seven in the fourth set—and a two-set cushion slowly vanishing completely—Creamline turned to an all-Filipino roster spearheaded by Carlos to cement the victory and bounce back from a deflating defeat to F2 Logistics last Tuesday.

“It was an all-Filipino lineup in the fourth set [and] coach didn’t need to tell us anything because we’ve been together for almost how many years. I am almost two years with this team,” said Carlos, who subbed for Yeliz Basa in the fourth when Army had blockaded the Turkish import. “So we only needed to execute the things that our coach taught us. He just reminded us when we forget some things like in terms of positioning in attacks.”

Carlos, the two-time PVL MVP, joined hands with Jema Galanza as Creamline pulled away to take a 19-14 lead. De Guzman iced that run with an ace. Army rallied from that point and the two teams swapped leads before Galanza closed out the two-hour match and give Creamline its sixth win in seven starts.

De Guzman dished out 23 excellent sets and nailed three aces to finish with four points, distributing the offensive wealth equally as Basa and Celine Domingo led the way with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Galanza also benefited from De Guzman’s astute playmaking, finishing with 14 points on top of 23 excellent receptions and 11 digs. INQ