Creamline Cool Smashers’ Jia de Guzman. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Jia De Guzman said was thrilled to see Creamline’s teamwork at its best in the Cool Smashers’ dominant win over Choco Mucho in the Premier Volleyball League’s All-Filipino Conference at Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday.
As the Cool Smashers’ kept their undefeated record, De Guzman couldn’t help but appreciate her team’s collective effort to sweep the Flying Titans, 25-18, 25-13, 25-14 on Valentine’s Day.
“[I’m] very happy because everyone’s really stepping up. If someone is hard on getting points, everyone is there to cover and help. Even if the second ball would not come from me, everyone knows how to set. That’s what one of the things I appreciate from the team,” the star setter said.
De Guzman had an instrumental outing for Creamline, tallying 25 out of the squad’s 29 excellent sets for the entirety of the game.
Her plays on Tuesday resulted in three players scoring in double-digits, compared to the Flying Titans who only had Kat Tolentino and Des Cheng leading the team with eight points each.
Ced Domingo, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao all scored 15 markers a piece to bury Choco Mucho to a 1-2 slate.
De Guzman said the Cool Smashers are still missing the presence of ace spiker Alyssa Valdez, which made their team effort more important.
“We still miss having Ate Ly (Alyssa) inside the court but at the same time, we know that we should level up as a team to get our following games,” she said.
As of writing, there is still no timetable for Valdez’s return due to an ailing knee injury.
The Cool Smashers will try to keep their slate clean when they face fellow undefeated F2 Logistics (2-0) at Philsports Arena on Saturday, something the team will train hard for, according to De Guzman.
“We’re still going to go to training and prepare the best we can for F2. All the teams have their own strengths that we need to prepare for. None of the teams in this conference are so-so, so we’re still training like we’re at the bottom of the pack.”