After finding themselves in unfamiliar territory with back-to-back losses, Alyssa Valdez and the Creamline Cool Smashers dug deep to bounce back against Chery Tiggo in PVL on Tour.
The Creamline Cool Smashers tapped deep into themselves as they clawed back from a rare two-game losing skid, beating red-hot Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the PVL on Tour at Passi City on Sunday.
Facing more adversity than they’ve been accustomed to due to their recent losing spell, the Cool Smashers were suddenly feeling vulnerable against an erstwhile unbeaten Chery Tiggo squad that had just come off of a big win against perennial contender Cignal.
But Alyssa Valdez and Creamline’s championship mettle had powered through challenges before.
The answer this time around lay in the very core of their life as a Cool Smasher. That is, Valdez and the rest of her teammates had to be reminded why they do the things they do.
Having been lost with all the pressure and expectations, Valdez said they tapped into their love of the game.
[READ: Creamline rebounds with big win, hands Chery Tiggo first loss in PVL on Tour]
“Honestly, I think one thing na na-realize namin [is] we just have to play and enjoy the game and respect the game,” said Valdez, after firing 19 points in the win over Chery Tiggo.
“Andaming mga lapses kaya naman very specific din yung lapses namin from our first game so mas madaling naka-adjust in [Sunday’s] game,” she added.
With Creamline mainly relying to a veteran and battle-tested core, Valdez and the Cool Smashers face the unique challenge of keeping up with a budding batch of competitors.
But Valdez isn’t fretting just yet.
Armed with trust in Creamline’s tried and tested system, she believes that they will be able to settle things down — especially when it matters most.
“With the help of my teammates, my coaches talaga hopefully maging mas consistent pa and mas makapag-prepare pa for the upcoming games na mas crucial,” she said.
Being the crowd favorites, Creamline also hopes to be able to lean on its legion of fans and strong community — even as the matches return to Metro Manila for the playoffs.
“It’s my first time here in Passi. It’s great na we have our seventh man here also in Iloilo,” she said.
“It’s just so nice na we might have lost the last game pero buong buong pa rin yung suporta nila in our second game so nakakatuwa pa din.”
Creamline wrapped up the group phase with a 3-2 slate and will need to see the results of the last few games in Pool B to determine whether or not they go through to the quarterfinals outright, or will need to go through the knockout playin match.
Good news for the Cool Smashers, though, is that they’ll face a lengthy break as the earliest that they can return to action will be on Saturday, August 2, when the playin rounds kick off in San Juan.