WITH the absence of team captain Alyssa Valdez, Jema Galanza is willing to step up and embrace a leadership role for the Creamline Cool Smashers.
Jema Galanza on being Creamline leader
The defending champions easily cruised to 2-0 in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference thanks to the all-around performance of Galanza against the Cignal HD Spikers on Thursday night.
But aside from becoming a go-to scorer, the 5-foot-7 outside spiker admitted she is working on becoming an on-court leader for the star-studded team as they continue their title retention bid without their injured star Valdez.
“Siguro ngayon, kailangan ko lang i-mindset talaga na habang wala pa rin si Ate Ly, leadership talaga yung kailangan ko i-labas on the court, and kahit hanggang labas, diba?” she said after Creamline demolished Cignal 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 at FilOil EcoOil Centre.
Galanza proved how she can spark a loaded Creamline team, exploding in the highly-contested second set to finish with 13 points – a bounce back performance from her six-point output in the Cool Smashers’ debut game against Petro Gazz.
The 2019 PVL MVP also delivered defensively, tallying 58.33% reception efficiency that helped the Cool Smashers fend off comeback attempts from heavy-serving HD Spikers.
But despite a well-rounded performance, Galanza still looks to improve her game and consistency.
“Hangga’t maari, maging consistent ako, ma-less pa yung error ko at ng team. Sa training din naman po namin lumalabas ‘yun. Kung ano yung tine-training nang husto, yun ang lalabas,” she said as the Cool Smashers gave away 20 unforced errors in three sets.
The Cool Smashers will battle next its sister company Choco Mucho Flying Titans, who’s coming off a straight-sets loss, on February 14 at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
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