Fuel to fire: First Creamline sweep loss in 5 years a blessing, says Alyssa Valdez

SANTA ROSA, Philippines – Even the greatest teams in sports are not immune from the occasional off day or two, and the PVL’s Creamline Cool Smashers are no exception.

Riding a 19-game winning streak lasting eight months, the seven-time champions found themselves on the wrong end of a dominating display as the Chery Tiggo Crossovers cleaned house with a 25-18, 26-24, 25-23 sweep, marking the first time Creamline lost in three sets since May 2019.

Although rarely on the side of a beatdown, superstar Alyssa Valdez still unearthed the silver linings she and her teammates can take moving forward, as the Cool Smashers remain near the top of the standings at 4-1.

“Wow it’s been a while, and probably it’s really about time also for us to feel that way again, so that we can have renewed energy and strength to get motivation,” she said after the game.

“What can I say, the quality of gams now is really entertaining, interesting. Everyone’s really keeping up and every team is having great games.”

Sure enough, Chery Tiggo had itself a great one after having its own shocking sweep loss against young Farm Fresh, as Eya Laure, Jen Nierva, and Ara Galang all had standout outings to help end a two-game skid.

As for Creamline, a period of reflection is next on the schedule as it gears for an expected bounce-back against upstart Capital1 on Thursday, March 21, at the Araneta Coliseum.

“It was a very quiet dugout. That’s expected. But you know, knowing my teammates, it might be quiet, but in their heads they’re all like really thinking on what to do, on how to improve, on how to bounce back or be better the next game,” Valdez continued.

“So I really believe in them and I believe that we can get back our competitiveness and add more fire to fight this conference.” – Rappler.com