Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses emphasized the importance of learning from their back-to-back losses as the Cool Smashers got back on track against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the PVL on Tour.
Sherwin Meneses isn’t losing sleep over the Creamline Cool Smashers’ recent stumbles in the PVL on Tour
The Cool Smashers halted a rare two-game skid with a much-needed four-set victory against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 25-21, 19-25, 25-16, 25-18, at the Passi City Arena in Iloilo last Sunday, July 20.
The victory kept Creamline in the running for an outright quarterfinals berth in Pool B with a 3-2 record, though its fate still hinges on the result of Chery Tiggo's next match against ZUS Coffee.
More than anything, Meneses emphasized growth over panic, despite the magnitude of their brief slide.
“Napaka-importante [ng panalo ngayon] kasi nga yung standings, dikit-dikit,” said Meneses. “Hindi naman sa’min importante kung ‘yung two games namin is natalo. Ang importante, natuto kami kung bakit kami natatalo.”
Prior to the Passi leg, Creamline was swept by Cignal in San Juan and then suffered a five-set upset at the hands of ZUS Coffee. This marked the first time the Grand Slam champions lost back-to-back preliminary games in a PVL tournament.
Meneses pointed out how the Cool Smashers previously fell into a pattern of careless errors and lapses in focus, which were addressed against the Crossovers.
"'Yung lapses last time, napaka-careless ng mga galaw namin. Mga basic errors, nage-error kami,” he said. “Sa ngayon, mataas yung pinerform ng team. Naging maganda 'yung panalo dahil 'yung composure nandyan.”
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Had Creamline dropped the match against Chery Tiggo, it would’ve resulted in the team’s first-ever three-game losing skid—an unimaginable outcome for the perennial title contenders.
Instead, they celebrated Meneses’ birthday weekend with a confidence-restoring win and now wait to see whether they will head straight to the quarterfinals or have to go through the play-in round.