On V-Day, no love lost between sister teams as Creamline targets solo lead

It’s going top be another blockbuster duel when popular squads Creamline and Choco Mucho collide anew. —PVL PHOTO

Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin doesn’t want his Flying Titans to rush things in their time of learning.

Problem is, the Flying Titans will be clashing with their sister squad that’s on a Premier Volleyball League tear, and Creamline would obviously not show them any love in their Valentine’s Day clash, the latest installment to their storied and loud rivalry that gets going at 6:30 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“We’re sad because that wasn’t the result that we wanted,” Alinsunurin, handling a women’s team for the first time, said after a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 whipping taken at the hands of Petro Gazz and former Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro. “I explained to them that we’re not rushing [our progress] and we’re just getting started.

“We’re not taking shortcuts. Whatever problem we see every game, we will find a solution,” he added.

The Cool Smashers are far different animals than the Angels as they haven’t dropped a set in their first two games even with skipper Alyssa Valdez out because of a knee injury.

And with another big crowd as backdrop, with the solo lead at stake and the chance to deal the Flying Titans a second straight loss in three games might be more than enough motivation for the Cool Smashers to go all out.

Jema Galanza, a steady offensive force for the Cool Smashers, is one of those not ready to take Choco Mucho lightly.

“They still have the chemistry,” Galanza said in Filipino. “The only thing different with them is that they have a new coach. I think they will still put up a good fight because of the chemistry that they have.”

Galanza, Tots Carlos, Ced Domingo and Michelle Gumabao have stepped up with Valdez out and that quartet has proven unstoppable in Creamline’s first two games.

“We still need to learn a lot of things and we need to do in games what we have been training for,” Galanza said. “We will study their game very well.”

Meanwhile, Cignal and Akari shoot for to win for the first time when they collide in the 4 p.m. game, with the HD Spikers showing up far from the team that finished third here last year despite a formidable roster built around Rachel Anne Daquis and Ces Molina.

Akari, on the other hand, still has to win in the Dindin Manabat era, losing to the F2 Cargo Movers and then to Creamline. —with Reports from Lance D. Agcaoili INQ