Alyssa Valdez –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
From Roysde Tubino to Caitlyn Viray, the country’s finest unheralded standouts delivered strong performances to lead their teams to victories in the PVL Invitational Conference on Saturday.
But it was the sport’s brightest names that shone on the day’s most dramatic encounter.
Alyssa Valdez, who spent most of the tournament finding her form after a long injury layoff, came through with 22 points as defending champion Creamline survived Cignal’s stern challenge, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 24-26, 15-10, at PhilSports Arena to remain undefeated in the semifinals.
Valdez built her conference-best performance on 18 attacks, two blocks and an ace even as the Cool Smashers drew huge games from Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza to inch closer to a Finals berth.
“For our team, the more the games get closer, the more the players help each other,” said Carlos, who led Creamline with 27 points, referring to the team’s ability to squeeze through tough five-setters.
“Through these five-setter games, for me personally, it makes the team stronger and more composed. We’re proud of each other,” she added.
‘Proven’
“Creamline is already proven when it comes to five-setter matches. Regardless of what result, they will play on. Good thing, we still won our second straight five-setter,” said coach Sherwin Meneses. “We’re happy because we’re slowly inching closer to the finals.”
Galanza, one of the stars in the Creamline galaxy, added 21 points and helped the team’s floor coverage with 17 digs.
Tubino scored 20 points as PLDT logged its first semifinal win after pouncing on the Kianna Dy-less F2 Logistics, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18, earlier in the day.
“We have to bounce back because this is the semis. We need to persevere and have a mindset that we have to work hard on everything in the semis,” said Tubino. “For me, I’m so happy we got our first win in the semis. We need to keep on striving and be more patient.”
Viray, meanwhile, punched in 22 points as Choco Mucho copped seventh after sweeping Chery Tiggo, 25-20, 26-24, 25-15, in a classification match.
“I’m happy I was able to help my team. I’m just repaying the trust given by my coaches,” said Viray on her career-best output.
But the night belonged to Creamline’s stars, who were a luxury for setter Jia de Guzman. Spoiled by the richness of talent around her, the crafty playmaker lobbed 33 excellent sets in running the Cool Smashers’ offense.