CHICAGO -- "Excuse me, queen Alyssa Valdez, please get out of the way. I have an appointment with the PVL open championship trophy."
Jaja Santiago didn't exactly spit out such words. She's too polite, too well-mannered to be lured into that malicious alley where dirty little trash talk thrives.
But her dominating performance in Game 2 of the Finals yesterday was another story. It wielded the nasty bite Chery Tiggo needed to hold off Creamline's imperious march to another glorious championship.
Displaying the same grit and panache that had made her longtime rival -- Valdez -- the face of her sport, Jaja tossed the Crossovers to a hard-fought four-setter that knotted the title series at 1-1.
In that exhausting four-setter ( 25-18, 17-25, 25-16, 25-21), Santiago unleashed the fury of 25 points on the strength of 20 converted attacks and three kill blocks.
But creaming the Cool Smashers required more than just a solo flight of brilliance; it needed a confederacy of willing accomplices. Which is exactly what Chery Tiggo got.
As chronicled by SPIN.ph reporter Lance Agcaoili, who remains in the thick of the action at the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center, Jaja's sister Dindin Santiago-Manabat and teammates Shaya Adorador, Joy Dacoron, and Buding Duremdes rallied behind their star to stave off elimination.
And just like that, it's getting bubbly out there in the Laoag, Ilocos Norte bubble.
The common sentiment still favors Creamline to dig deep into their championship degree and somehow repel the resistance of a suddenly resurgent foe.
But a compressed schedule, dictated by rising Covid-19 cases, have become a wild card factor. Knees are tired and overburdened. And three pressure-packed Finals games in three days has created a scarcity of fresh bodies.
This is as much a contest of will as much as skill.
SO WHO YOU GOT?
It would be foolish to pick against Valdez. A survivor of many wars, she frowns when threatened and tends to impose her might to those who wish to seize the jewel-encrusted tiara that had symbolized her reign as the queen of Phiippine volleyball.
Although it's been pushed to the limit, there are no visible cracks on the foundation of this team dynasty. The Cool Smashers are wobbled and weary but a long way from getting knocked down for good.
Just "the little things," said Valdez as she narrated the errors that spiraled during Creamline's Game 2 demise.
Maybe so. Maybe this was a mere nervous hiccup before taking a swig of the victory champagne.
But Jaja Santiago is on a mission, too.
She had already conquered the international shores of Japan. This time, she yearns for some domestic bliss and nothing would satisfy her title cravings more than to deliver the PVL open conference trophy to Chery Tiggo.
Game 3 is today.
Will the glass slippers fit on a princess with a 6-foot-5 frame?
Or will Chery Tiggo's Cinderella run strike midnight against a wounded, angry and territorial queen?
Ah, the plot thickens.
Make mine Creamline.
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