CREAMLINE made sure the second day of the PVL Invitational would not produce a hat-trick of upsets.
With PLDT falling to Nxled earlier in the day and Farm Fresh getting swept by EST Cola, the Cool Smashers came into Tuesday night wary of becoming the third higher-ranked team to stumble.
Instead, it made quick work of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, 25-18, 25-16, 25-6, to stay perfect at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and take sole possession of the league lead.
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The result put Creamline at 2-0 as the lone unbeaten team in the six-team field, avoiding what would have been a logjam with all six teams sitting at 1-1 after two days.
Ho Chi Minh, meanwhile, was left as the tournament’s only winless side at 0-2 after also dropping its opener to Farm Fresh in four sets.
More importantly, the Cool Smashers kept themselves in position to control their own path to the championship.
Creamline next faces Farm Fresh on Thursday, where a third straight victory would bring the two-time Invitational champion a step closer to securing the first finals ticket and strengthen its bid for a 12th PVL title.
The third-set score matched the fourth most lopsided set in the PVL’s professional era and fifth overall.
Four of those all-time shortest sets were also won by Creamline.
"Sobrang saya lalo na nu'ng third set kasi kahapon, 'yung third set namin, medyo hindi ganun ka-smooth. Nag-improve kami sa third set talaga, at lesson sa'min na maging maganda 'yung laro namin kapag third set," said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses.
Ice-cold domination
The MVP trio of Jema Galanza, Tots Carlos and Jaja Santiago-Minowa shared the scoring load with 12 points apiece, with Galanza also chipping in 10 digs and six receptions.
Alyssa Valdez added nine points and 10 digs, while setter Kyle Negrito orchestrated the attack with 20 excellent sets and two points of her own.
Creamline's defensive pressure was just as decisive, with the Cool Smashers piling up 11 blocks and five aces to keep Ho Chi Minh from finding any rhythm.
The contest lasted just 1 hour and 18 minutes, with Creamline needing little time to put away the Vietnamese side.
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