MANILA, Philippines – In the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Cool Smashers were one win away from capturing the bronze medal, but Creamline didn’t need to rely on import Yeliz Basa because its all-Filipino team easily defeated Chery Tiggo, 25 to 22, 22 to 25, 25 to 5, 25 to 19.

Basa was kept off the field due to an injury by coach Sherwin Meneses, and the locals stepped up to lead the squad to victory over the same team that had halted their record grand slam effort the previous Tuesday.

Tots Carlos started in lieu of their Turkish replacement and didn’t let them down, launching an 18-kill game to finish with 19 points while four other Cool Smashers produced double-digit scores. The Cool Smashers needed to defeat the Crossovers in 3 or 4 sets the previous time out but were drawn into a five-set struggle that opened the door for the Cignal-Petro Gazz title match.

Ced Domingo, the top middle, likewise sported no uniform for Creamline.

Alyssa Valdez scored 16 points, Pangs Panaga dominated the middle and finished with 14 points, boosted by nine blocks, while drawing motivation from mom’s infrequent appearance at the Big Dome, and Jema Galanza added 10 points. However, the rest of the locals still gave it their all in the bronze medal game.

In the Invitational Conference, Roselyn Doria of Cignal had a season-high nine blocks, which Panaga matched with nine.

The game lasted one hour and 54 minutes, but Michele Gumabao had the largest impact with 11 points, knocking down quality shots each time she entered the court and capping the game with three straight baskets.

Carlos expressed his team’s happiness and noted that they had played well, noting that they had maintained their positive attitude despite failing to break their previous record. We are appreciative of all of our fans and the victory.

The Open Conference and Invitational champions also benefited from their record-breaking run in the third set, when they amassed 11 straight points on strong blocking and steady serving en route to posting a huge 20-point margin.

The Crossovers attempted to recover from their lapse in judgment by taking an 8 to 4 lead in the fourth but Valdez, Panaga, and Carlos rallied the group to take a 22 to 19 lead before Gumabao unleashed a kill, a crosscourt slam, and an off-the-block hit to seal the victory for the league’s first-ever pro season champions.

Meneses stated, “Masaya kami [we are happy], naka-recover kami na hindi kami nakalaro sa finals [we recovered also played for the finals].” Because of the blocking and serve that I made in set 3, “Siguro yung break napunta ang amin [I think we got the break.”

Jelena Cvijovic, an import, ended with nine points for Chery Tiggo, while Roselle Baliton concluded with eight points, 27 great catches, and 14 digs. EJ Laure also contributed eight points.