PVL: The battle rejoined Creamline vs Petro Gazz

PVL: The battle rejoined

by rick olivares

I still say that Creamline and Petro Gazz will meet each other in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference Finals.

The Creamline Coolsmashers avenged their opening day loss with a 3-1 win over the Petro Gazz Angels (25-18, 21-25, 25-19, 26-24).

This was the game the Coolsmashers wanted; the team everyone is measuring them against. After all, in seven previous matches, Petro Gazz dropped only one set having won 21 others. 

Aside from coming out with a higher intensity, I felt that Creamline wanted this so bad. A loss would have really cast a pall on their title aspirations.

In our preview of this match, we opined that for Creamline to pull off a win, they would need Venezuelan middle hitter Aleoscar Blanco to really step up. And she did scoring 12 points and playing very good net defense. 

We pointed out that they would need more than Alyssa Valdez and Kuttika Kaewpin to score. In the first day match, Michelle Gumabao was hardly used. A mistake by their former coach who doesn’t seem to really know his players. Gumabao was huge yesterday scoring eight points and playing great defense.

Aside from Valdez, Kaewpin, Blanco, and Gumabao, setter Jia Morado provided some big points and top-notch playmaking. Morado was the conductor who directed Anusorn Bundit’s symphony. Whatever your team, you really have to tip your hat to one of the best playmakers in the country today.

And third, we thought that Creamline needed to be aggressive on offense.

The Petro Gazz Angels have three of the best receivers in the league in Janisa Johnson, Wilma Salas, and Cienne Cruz. Because of the quick offense of Creamline, the Angels were scrambling.

We previously reasoned that for Petro Gazz to fulfill their ttile aspirations, they simply need others to step up. Their over-reliance on Johnson and Salas hurt them. Jeanette Panaga has been contributing but she should tack on more numbers than a measly four points. 

Cai Nepomuceno-Baloaloa, who started in three of the four sets, did not score a point. And that hurt. You have Jovie Prado and Stephanie Mercado there. Why not use them?

Volleyball analysts have pointed out that Petro Gazz has the two best imports in the league and that has really covered up a lot of holes in their line-up. While the All-Filipino line-up may not be the best, they do have some weapons in there. I don’t think they should be for show or fillers in a line-up.

Of course, it is just one game thus far. But now, the battle has been rejoined. With two games to play, all teams are jockeying for third and fourth position in the next round as the top two seeds have been locked up by Petro Gazz and Creamline regardless of how they finish.

They would still want to finish strong because you get the feeling they will meet in the finals barring some unfortunate circumstance.

While that is looking far ahead, it would be interesting how both teams come out and what changes in strategy there are for Petro Gazz because it is now their turn to adjust.