MANILA, Philippines – Turkish spiker Yeliz Basa was a target, but Jema Galanza and the home team came through on Saturday at Sta. Mesa to help Creamline defeat Cignal, 25 to 18, 22 to 25, 25 to 22, 25 to 12, and maintain a tie for first place in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference. in Laguna, the Rosa Sports Complex.

In order to tie the match at one set apiece in the second set, the HD Spikers played a solid net defense against Basa, blocking five out of her seven shots. Galanza, though, stepped up to the plate and led the way for the Cool Smashers with a team-best 17 points on the strength of 14 attacks, two blocks, and an ace in addition to 17 digs.

Basa struggled with a 13 of 46 offensive percentage, but she excelled in the fourth set to finish with 14 points for Creamline, which defeated Cignal in one hour and 59 minutes to maintain its unbeaten streak of three games and tie Chery Tiggo for first place in the league.

The challenger, Cignal, was formidable. They were good opponents for us and are not simple to play against. Being successful makes me joyful. In Filipino, Galanza added, “Our entire team made a contribution.

While Celine Domingo, another middle blocker, added eight points, Jenette Panaga also contributed nine points. Jia Morado dished out 25 superb sets in addition to three points off of two aces, while Alyssa Valdez also scored eight and had 16 excellent receptions.

Sherwin Meneses, the coach of Creamline, was happy that his charges were able to overcome Cignal’s 12 kill blocks, bounce back from a second set loss, and win the match.

“We’re grateful that after losing the second set, we were able to bounce back. After I instructed them to simply play, function as a unit, and have faith in one another, the team performed admirably in the third and fourth matches. You’ll have an easier time winning if your team works well together, Meneses remarked.

Galanza gave the Cool Smashers a 21-15 lead in the third set, but they let the HD Spikers to respond with five straight points, starting with an ace from Ayel Estranero and ending with a foreigner named Tai Bierria, to narrow the advantage to one, 21 to 20.

While Rose Doria blocked Valdez to hold Cignal within one, 23 to 22, Galanza stopped the bleeding, but Cignal wouldn’t give up. Creamline was ahead 2 to 1 after Basa forced the issue at the important set point and Ces Molina made a crucial blunder during an attack.

Before taking against Akari (1 to 3) on Thursday at Philsports Arena, Basa gained control of the fourth set and destroyed the HD Spikers by a score of 13.

With 20 points from 14 attacks, four blocks, two aces, nine digs, and eight receptions to go along with eight and seven points each from Rose Doria and Rachel Anne Daquis, Bierria led Cignal.

The HD Spikers, who had 31 errors committed against them and only 31 kills compared to the Cool Smashers’ 52 spikes, were defeated for the second time in three games, sharing the loss with their sister teams PLDT and F2 Logistics.

On Saturday of next week, Cignal will take on Choco Mucho (2-1) in an effort to snap its losing streak.