CREAMLINE rolled the dice with its conference on the line and it paid off.
The Cool Smashers surprised Akari by starting Kyle Negrito over Jia de Guzman in their play-in finale Tuesday, a bold call that ultimately delivered a record 20th PVL semifinals berth.
With a combined 12 PVL best setter awards between them, either playmaker could have steered the ship. But benching a healthy De Guzman still raised eyebrows.
READ: Creamline back in PVL semis after beating Akari in sudden death
Head coach Sherwin Meneses, though, saw it as a necessary gamble against an Akari side that had beaten them in their last two meetings.
“Ine-expect siguro ng kalaban na si Jia mags-start, pero almost the same lang naman eh,” Meneses said.
“Masaya ako na nagawa niya ‘yung role niya. Dalawa naman sila ni Jia na nagta-trabaho nang husto, pero siyempre minsan, may mga gamble na nangyayari.
“Ang advantage ni Kyle, siyempre mas matagal siya ngayon na nakasama ‘yung mga nasa loob. Pero Jia is Jia, nandyan palagi ‘yan na tutulong sa’min.”
Negrito backed it up with 23 excellent sets and six points, running the offense with poise in a do-or-die setting.
For her, the moment wasn’t new.
“‘Di naman na rin po bago ‘yung naging game plan namin. Na-experience ko na rin po ‘yang mga ganyang do-or-die na big games,” she said.
“Nag-work ‘yung game plan and confident po ako kasi alam ko na tutulungan ako ng mga teammates ko.”
As Creamline heads into a single round-robin semifinal, a format it has struggled in before, Meneses knows what edge they can lean on: unpredictability.
“‘Yung chemistry ng team, talagang nandyan na kay Kyle. Depende naman sa situation, pwede si Jia o pwede si Kyle every game,” he said.
“‘Yun ‘yung strength ng Creamline, ‘di natin alam kung sino mags-start ngayon o next game. Nagkataon lang na si Kyle ‘yung nauna ngayon pero hindi natin alam sa mga susunod na games kung si Jia o si Kyle.”
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