ALYSSA Valdez laughed off her first career yellow card, poking fun at the incident on social media after Creamline’s intense showdown with Chery Tiggo.
The Cool Smashers claimed a semifinal spot in the PVL Reinforced Conference with a four-set win over the Crossovers at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna, a match that featured another fine Valdez performance although marred by the decorated volleyball star’s first-ever yellow card.
See Creamline books semis ticket after handing tough Chery Tiggo first loss
A yellow card comes with no penalty — a sort of a final warning — but still an unwanted first for Valdez, a veteran in domestic and international play.
At 28 all, Chery import Jelena Cvijovic scored an off the block hit against Creamline’s Yelo Basa, and the ball was of bounds according to the lines judge.
There was no challenge system available in the two hour and 16 minute encounter, and Valdez was shown the card by first referee Fernando Velarde as she argued the ball was inside.
Apparently fired up by the situation, the former Ateneo standout answered back with a kill to knot the match at 29 and back-to-back kills from Ced Domingo sealed the deal for the Cool Smashers
In a tweet, the three-time PVL MVP only poked fun of the incident as the Cool Smashers emerged victorious in the battle of unbeaten teams.
“In this kind of match kasi there are a lot of crucial calls din talaga. I mean, sobrang dikit talaga ipaglalaban mo talaga bawat bola so it’s very important talaga,” Valdez said.
“Heart of steel talaga,” Valdez said as Creamline remained undefeated in five outings.
“The way I see sa mga eyes din talaga nila they really want to finish it and nandoon talaga yung heart to actually fight and finish the game,” she said.
The Cool Smashers look to extend their winning streak to six when they face F2 Logistics on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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