MANILA, Philippines – Creamline captain Alyssa Valdez says the Cool Smashers are still not in their best form despite a 10-game winning streak that propelled them within a win of another finals stint.

“Honestly, I think winning is just a testament of working hard in practices but it doesn’t mean that we’re 100% of what we aim to be and what we aim for,” said Valdez after Creamline took Game 1 of the 2019 Premier Volleyball League semifinals over Pacifictown Army. 

“It’s really consistency that will bring us to the finals, and hopefully, bring us back to the championship.” 

The Cool Smashers clinched a hard-earned win over the Lady Troopers, who dragged the game to 4 sets thanks to the veteran presence of Royse Tubino and import Olena Lymareva-Flink. 

With Creamline up against an experienced team like Pacifictown, Valdez thinks there’s no excuse for the errors they gave up. 

But the lapses may just further motivate the Cool Smashers – who recently got the services of young FEU stars Kyle Negrito, Celine Domingo and Heather Guino-o – to play smarter on court. 

“Kahit sabihin natin na medyo veteran na talaga sila, di nila basta binibigay, pag nakikita namin sila sa court, they’re very focused, their eyes are burning to win talaga,” added Valdez, who chipped in 12 points to go with 8 excellent digs and 8 excellent receptions.

“They’re really focused so kami as team, labanan namin iyon by being smart talaga and even playing as a team.” 

(They’re a veteran team, they’re not going to concede easily, and when we see them on court, they’re very focused, their eyes are really burning to win. They’re really focused so it’s a battle of being smart and playing as a team.) 

The Creamline Cool Smashers aim to sweep the best-of-three semifinals series in Game 2 on Saturday, July 6, 4 pm, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. – Rappler.com