Creamline’s Bea De Leon.–PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Creamline middle blocker Bea De Leon would trade her best game for a win after the Cool Smashers fell to the Petro Gazz Angels in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday night.
De Leon had her best outing yet since joining Creamline with 13 points, highlighted by six kill blocks, in the Cool Smashers’ 15-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-19, 15-13 loss to the Angels at Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.
“I didn’t know [my stats]. Sana nanalo na lang kami,” De Leon told reporters after the loss.
“I think we gave it everything that we could. Talagang naunahan talaga kami ng Petro Gazz. They played very well and we weren’t able to stop them, especially towards the back end. A loss is a loss,” she added.
SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024
Creamline lost to Petro Gazz for the second time in their past 19 matches, forcing a second-place tie between the two clubs at 6-2 behind league-leader Choco Mucho (7-1).
De Leon and the Cool Smashers vow to bounce back next game in their quest for an All-Filipino Conference “four-peat.”
“Very sad siyempre. Hirap ng nangyari sa amin. But you know, we’ll give it a day of course. And the most important part is makabawi kami,” she said. “Na-mention nga nila coach kanina was the slow start. Talagang mahirap, hindi talaga laging makahabol kaagad kapag ganun kalaki rin ‘yung deficit and ganun ka-crucial.”
“That’s one but for now, it’s like everything’s still a blur so we’re still gonna try and go back talaga to the drawing table.”
De Leon still expressed her gratitude to Creamline fans, who were among the 6,419 spectators in Laguna, for energizing the Cool Smashers despite the defeat.
“Those were really big bright spots for us na ‘pag naririnig namin silang nag-cheer lalo na sa ganito ka-compressed na arena, sobrang rinig na rinig namin sila. Actually, kami sa loob ng court, nagsisigawan kami kasi nga sobrang loud ng crowd which is good for us, for everybody and the game,” De Leon said. “Sobrang thankful talaga namin sa crowd sa araw-araw naming paglalaro.”