MANILA – Creamline Cool Smashers and Petro Gazz Angels moved closer to a finals seat in the 2019 Premier V-League Reinforced Conference after taking Game 1 of their semifinals series on Wednesday at San Juan Arena.
The defending champions Cool Smashers moved a win closer from returning to the finals after scoring a 26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 victory over the PacificTown-Army Lady Troopers.
Thai reinforcement Kuttika Kaewpin top-scored with 21 points to go along with 16 excellent digs, while fellow import Aleoscar Blanco contributed 19 markers for the Cool Smashers.
Alyssa Valdez showcased her all-around game, tallying 12 markers, eight excellent digs, and eight excellent receptions, while Julia Morado tallied 20 excellent sets for Creamline.
“We know na Army won’t just give it away,” Valdez said. “Kami naman as a team hindi pwede kumurap sa mga veterans na team like Army kasi very smart, intelligent sila kung paano maglalaro.”
Top seed Angels, on the other hand, also moved one step closer from the best-of-thre finale after a 25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 25-12 victory over the no. 4 seed BanKo Perlas Lady Spikers.
The Angels struggled their way in the opening set but still managed to take it to draw first blood. Janisa Johnson and Wilma Salas made their presence felt in the second as Petro Gazz surged to an 18-10 lead en route to a 2-0 set edge.
After losing the third set, the Angels started strong in the fourth frame with a 16-9 advantage behind Johnson and Salas. It grew further to 21-10 all the way to taking the series opener./PN
