Alyssa Valdez, the team captain for Creamline, demonstrated that after the Cool Smashers’ loss against Chery Tiggo on Tuesday, which prevented them from qualifying for a seventh consecutive PVL Finals trip.

The Cool Smashers bid for a season grand slam was put on hold when they lost to Cignal HD and Petro Tiggo in the differential tiebreaker after all three teams concluded the Reinforced Conference semifinals at 2-1 (win-loss).

The three-time MVP Valdez also missed the finals for the first time since 2018.

Valdez stated as she racked up 18 points on 15 attacks and three aces against Chery Tiggo, it’s odd,  somewhat weird since even if they won the game, regrettably they weren’t able to get into the Finals.

Valdez admitted that pressure played a significant role in the Cool Smashers’ collapse in the third set, as they blew a 10-7 lead and ultimately lost two sets. To secure the tiebreaker advantage, they had to win by a maximum of four sets.

The 2022 Open and Invitational Champions finished the semifinals with five points after the match went the full five sets, falling one point short of tying the finalist Cignal and the reigning champion Petro Gazz for third place.

On Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Creamline will play Chery Tiggo again in the best-of-three bronze-medal match to round off its season.

Despite the loss, Valdez chose to see the bright side and remained confident in the Cool Smashers’ capacity to recover.

Preview

In a vital PVL Reinforced Conference semifinal match against Chery Tiggo, the Cool Smashers lost two of the first three sets, 25-14, 20-25, 14-25, effectively ruining their hopes of making a seventh consecutive finals appearance.

The Cool Smashers fell short of making their seventh consecutive finals appearance after failing to defeat Chery Tiggo in four sets, leaving the defending champion Petro Gazz and PVL Finals rookie Cignal to contend for the championship.

Amazingly, the Crossovers defeated the Cool Smashers in the bronze medal game.

The Crossovers had nothing to gain from the match other than bragging rights after losing their previous two matches to Cignal and Petro Gazz, and they were prepared to leave peacefully after dropping the first set.

Yet they immediately came to life in the second set, turning a 7-10 short into a safe 18-12 advantage in the third set before Mylene Paat increased the lead as Alyssa Valdez sent it off, 25-14. Eight blocks were responsible for this turnaround.

When Creamline finally got going, it was a little too late. Creamline easily won the fourth set, 25-11, and then rallied from behind to win the match, 15-9.

But in the end, it was all for nothing.

The Cool Smashers settled for third place despite matching the 2-1 cards of Petro Gazz and Cignal because they trailed in the tiebreak after completing the semifinals with only five points as opposed to the six points of the two finalists.

In a losing effort, Yelo Basa recorded a conference-high 27 points on 22 attacks, two blocks, and two aces, while Valdez ended with 18 points on 15 attacks, three aces, and 11 digs.

MVP candidate Paat spearheaded the Crossover’s comeback with a double-double of 15 points and 15 digs, and Jelena Cvijovic, Cza Carandang, and Shaya Adorador also reached double digits in scoring.