Valdez, Creamline keep energy up to beat BanKo despite late start to game

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Creamline was scheduled to take on BanKo at 6 pm in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Center.

With the government declaring August 21 a special non-working holiday for the remembrance of Ninoy Aquino Day, traffic going to the venue was generally light giving players from both teams more than enough time to prepare.

That ample time, however, turned into nearly an eternity as the two teams waited for nearly four hours with the two games before their scheduled match lasting five sets each.

Creamline captain Alyssa Valdez said playing at 8:11, more than two hours than the original schedule, posed different problems for them.

“The moment we entered the court we were on the same page that we wanted to finish this in the best way we can,” said Valdez in Filipino as the Cool Smashers took the four-set win, 25-10, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23.

The win brought Creamline’s league-best record to 4-0.

“We psyched ourselves up and it’s hard to wait that long because you really can’t do your ritual and warm ups properly.”

Valdez, who had a game-high 26 points, said they kept talking throughout the game to prevent themselves from losing their energy.

The match ended around 10 p.m. which is usually the time for Valdez to call it a night knowing that their daily practice is scheduled at 6 a.m.

“Inside the court we kept talking because our body clock was starting to doze off,” said Valdez. “We kept talking and it led to a win.”