Protecting home turf: Cool Smashers wallop Taiwanese for Invitational crown

Celine Domingo (center), the Finals MVP, celebrates a huge point at the height of Creamline’s second quarter rally. —PVL PHOTO

Getting its groove after falling behind, 16-10, in the second set, Creamline on Sunday gave up just 11 points the rest of the way to annihilate guest team Kingwhale of Taiwan, 25-21, 25-19, 25-8, and claim the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference championship in an overpowering way before a horde of screaming fans at Mall of Asia Arena.

Michelle Gumabao, the former league headliner who saw playing time in a no-bearing game on Friday, sparked the second set rally before the rest of the star-studded Cool Smashers put the Taiwanese away as Creamline claimed its fifth PVL crown to also deny a foreign club of making a hometown team a footnote here.

Alyssa Valdez hardly showed signs of a sprained ankle that took her out of the third set of that Friday loss, spearheading the Creamline attack together with Jema Galanza and the relentless Tots Carlos.

“The mindset of the team was great, and it showed after we were down in the second set,” said Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses in Filipino. “It was a tough match, the Kingwhale defense was hard to penetrate.”

Celine Domingo, however, was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) after finishing with 11 points that included four monstrous blocks. It was also Domingo who gave the Cool Smashers championship point.

Carlos, the league’s leading scorer and Conference MVP, led Creamline’s balanced attack with 14 points. Galanza, who was rested in the previous game, chipped in 13 points, while Valdez had nine, 13 digs and eight excellent receptions.

Brazilian Beatrz de Carvalho led the Taiwanese with 12 points, after being limited to 10-of-32 in attacks. She also had nine digs.

Gumabao, who even joined beauty contests a few years back, provided the spark and the momentum in the second set as the former La Salle ace’s four points came during the most critical time.

Chang Chih-Hsuan had eight points and nine excellent receptions, while Best Setter Liao Yi-Jen dished out 16 excellent sets as Kingwhale ended its week-long trip in the Philippines on a sour note after going undefeated in the semifinals. INQ