Cool Smashers, Angels look to dominate hungry foes

CREAMLINE and Petro Gazz will be gunning to draw first blood when they clash against Chery Tiggo and Zus Coffee in Game 1 of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference best-of-three quarterfinals on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The 10-time PVL champion Creamline sat at the top of the standings and aims to fend off Chery Tiggo in its first playoff meet at 4 p.m.

Chery Tiggo, on the other hand, booked a quarterfinal ticket after topping the Pool B of the standings in the play-in tournament.

It will not be a walk in the park for the Crossovers as the Cool Smashers will be parading a healthy lineup in Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao and Bernadeth Pons.

Chery Tiggo has nothing to lose and everything to gain. If their inspired performance in the Play-In phase is anything to go by, the Crossovers, led by Ara Galang, Cess Robles, Shaya Adorador and a determined supporting cast, won't go down without a fight.

With the unpredictability of a short best-of-three series, one strong start or a shift in momentum could turn the tide in their favor.

"Creamline is not an easy opponent, especially since they are full of veteran players. Many of them are really experienced players," said Adorador in Filipino. "But we will work hard and start with ourselves."

Head coach Norman Miguel needs to do more shuffling in his lineup in order to surprise the perennial champions of the league to possibly pull a shocker.

With Creamline having a winning pedigree and being backed up by thousands of supporters in the arena, a high-caliber performance is expected.

"Of course, we will still put in the work. It all starts in our training, and we also look to incorporate more of our players. We all know that the league is long, and we are also after the health and longevity of our players," head coach Sherwin Meneses told the press.

Meanwhile, Petro Gazz faces Zus at 6:30 p.m.

Zus made a surprise sweep in Pool A after stunning Cignal in five sets and finishing Capital1 in four sets to qualify for the next round.

With Zus on frenzy mode as the young team proved to carry on despite the struggles it faced in the preliminary round, the team showed that they are tough contenders too.

The No. 1 PVL draft pick Thea Gagate emerged to be fortress against foes as she now ranks second in the blocking department.

However, her net defense will be put to a test as she needs to watch out from the killer swings of reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Brooke Van Sickle, who can fire from all angles.

Petro Gazz, which finished second in the first round of the tournament looks to not waste its advantage and put Zus to its place.

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Games Today (PhilSports Arena): 4 p.m. – Creamline vs Chery Tiggo, 6:30 p.m. – Petro Gazz vs Zus