Creamline draws first blood in PVL finals series
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
Top seeds Creamline Cool Smashers defeated the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in five sets in Game One of the best-of-three Premier Volleyball League Open Conference finals series on Wednesday to move a win away from another league title.
Creamline, a three-time PVL champion, hung tough to get the better of a determined Chery Tiggo crew en route to the win, 25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25, 15-7, in proceedings held at the PCV Socio-Civic & Cultural Center in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.
The Cool Smashers created some separation early and never looked back after to claim a 1-0 lead in the contest.
In the second set, the match was more nip-and-tuck, with the teams fighting to a 16-15 count in favor of the Crossovers by the second technical timeout.
But Creamline held sway for the remainder of the set, outscoring its opponent, 10-5, to go on and take a 2-0 advantage.
Looking to stay alive, Chery Tiggo dug deeper at the start of the third set, building a 16-10 cushion by the midway point.
The Crossovers went on to get the set and narrow the gap, 2-1.
The teams battled it out to begin the fourth frame.
Chery Tiggo got it going early before Creamline made its move and tied the count at 13-all.
The Crossovers were undeterred, creating distance anew, 20-16, before taking the set and forcing the deciding frame.
Creamline opened the decider with a 6-1 lead, led by Tots Carlos.
It will take full advantage of it, stretching it to a 10-4 advantage and going on to close things out after.
Game Two of the finals is on Thursday at 5 p.m. It can be seen over One Sports and One Sports+.
