KINGWHALE Taipei might have upset Creamline in its first meeting in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference, but the Taiwanese Club is not staying complacent in its rematch in the finals on Sunday.
KingWhale Taipei vs Creamline preview
In fact, head coach Teng Yen-Min has her eyes on two Cool Smashers who put on a show in their five-setter match on Friday.
"Actually, each one of them can be a threat. But particularly, I'm monitoring number 18 and number 7," Teng said through a translator after KingWhale dismantled Cignal in four sets on Saturday.
Despite losing to KingWhale, leading MVP candidate Tots Carlos, who wears jersey number 18, pumped 15 points and nine digs.
Meanwhile, Michelle Gumabao, who wears jersey number 7, led Creamline’s second stringers in its fourth-set comeback against KingWhale and tallied 11 points off the bench.
The Taiwanese head coach is also looking forward to go up against her former player Alyssa Valdez who had to exit the game early after sustaining a sprained ankle in the third set. Valdez played as an import under Teng’s Attack Line in the Taiwan league back in 2017.
“Most importantly, I wish that Alyssa can play tomorrow and to begin with, I was very concerned with Alyssa,” she said.
Nonetheless, Teng is confident KingWhale is ready to assert its mastery over Creamline in the winner-take-all finals tomorrow after completing a semis sweep with a four-set triumph against the HD Spikers today.
“Today’s match with Cignal was a good preparation for tomorrow,” she said.
KingWhale and the Cool Smashers will square off for the Invitational title tomorrow (Sunday), 5:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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