MANILA, Philippines — Creamline’s long reign could be likened to ancient dynasties that have stood the test of time.
And t he mighty Cool Smashers have no plans of relinquishing it anytime soon.
On the cusp of another glor ious ending, the proud franchise tries to wield the scepter of Premier Volleyball League power for another conference by finishing off a title-starved Choco Mucho today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The seven-time league champions survived a potential Game 1 collapse by hanging tough and sniped a 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16 victory from their younger siblings for a 1-0 lead in their short but sweet title series.
If they end up victorious in Game 2 set at 6 p.m. before an expected mammoth crowd, the Cool Smashers will collect championship trophy No. 8 and the tag as the best dynasty Philippine volleyball has ever seen.
But the path to success was not without perdition as Creamline had to overc ome inner struggles and the meteoric rise of other teams like the Sisi Rondina-powered Flying Titans.
Jema Galanza, a popu lar figure and one of Creamline’s most lethal weapons, vowed to persevere.
“Hindi ito ‘yung Creamline na kilala niyo,” said Galanza, whose star shone brightest after uncorking 20 points in the opener. “
Choco Mucho, for its part, would need to forget about its harrowing Game 1 experience and focus solely on forcing a decider, on Tuesday at the same venue.
Ganun talaga, hindi naman kami perfect at tumataas din level ng competition, gumagaling players at teams.”
“Ang hirap maging consistent, ang hirap maging champion every conference. Pero makikita mo sa bawat isa sa amin na gusto namin makuha ito,” said Gal anza.
Choco Mucho, for its part, would need to forget about its harrowing Game 1 experience and focus solely on forcing a decider, on Tuesday at the same venue.
MANILA, Philippines — In front of 20,955 witnesses, the Bulldogs got on the loose and went for the double ambush on the Tigers’ lair – with little to no resistance – to draw first blood in their virtual tag team duel for the UAAP volleyball supremacy.
The National U spikers mauled Santo Tomas squads with sweeping victories for 1-0 leads in the rare UAAP Season 86 men’s and women’s volleyball finals featuring the same casts yesterday at the jampacked Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Bulldogs feasted on the Golden Spikers with a 25-17, 26-24, 25-19 win in their finale rematch while the Lady Bulldogs pounced on the crippled Golden Tigresses, who took the toll of Angge Poyos’ ankle injury in the second set, for a 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 runaway triumph in the best-of-three showdowns.
Another win in Game 2 on Wednesday would complete their respective championship dreams – a four-peat for the Bulldogs and a redemption for the Lady Bulldogs eyeing their second title in the last three seasons.
Alyssa Solomon finally rediscovered her fiery form in the big stage with 17 points on 14 hits and three blocks while former MVP Bella Belen, who’s also this year’s top candidate, fired all of her 13 points on attacks.
Vange Alinsug and Sheena Toring contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the NU crew, which banked on experience in their third straight finals appearance compared to the young Santo Tomas unit in its first finale stint in five years.
“’Yun ang naging pep /talk namin sa dugout. Hindi na iba sa kanila ‘yung umabot dito sa finals. They know how it feels. Alam nila kung anong kailangan gawin,” said coach Norman Miguel.
True to form, NU sprinted to a 6-0 start to set the tempo and shake Santo Tomas off from its all-time high confidence after dethroning La Salle in the semis.
And without their top hitter Poyos (7), who tweaked her right ankle after accidentally stepping on teammate Mary Banagua’s foot in the second set, the Golden Tigresses were never the same even with the steady numbers of Jonna Perdido (17) and Regina Jurado (10).
It was the same story for the Bulldogs, who shackled reigning MVP Joshua Ybañes and ace spiker Gboy de Vega behind the troika of Buds Buddin (16), Nico Almendras (16) and Leo Aringo (15).
MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Am sensation Victoria Bossong showed promise as she ruled the event she was expected to dominate – the women’s 800 meters – yesterday in the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships at the PhilSports oval.
The 21-year-old Harvard standout clocked two minutes and 9.56 seconds in besting the local challengers, national team mainstay Bernalyn Bejoy, who had 2:12.48, and Far Eastern University’s Susan Ramadan, who checked in at 2:17.88.
It was faster than the time she registered in the morning heats – 2:12.7 – but it was way slower from her personal best of 2:00.92 she registered in last March’s US NCAA Division I race, which barely grazed the Paris Olympic standard of 1:59.30.
It was still enough though to remind everyone that she’s for real.
“Unfortunately, it’s still in the process but I’m excited to compete for the Philippines, still excited for the future,” said Bossong, whose mother is Puerto Galera native Annie Yaco Atienza, when asked if she already got her Philippine passport.
After the race, Bossong proceeded to the airport and flew back home to Maine on an evening flight to prepare for the NCAA Regionals in a week and the finals a week or two later.
National team mainstay Hussein Loraña, fresh from his feat in a Hong Kong tilt just more than a week before, continued to show promise as he ruled the men’s 800m in 1:51.32.
David Paul Matibag of Mandaluyong and Oyamkeri Espinosa of University of Santo Tomas timed in 1:52.34 and 1:52.63 to settle for the silver and bronze, respectively.
MANILA, Philippines — Eighth seed Terrafirma went into the David-versus-Goliath showdown with No. 1 San Miguel Beer believing it could defy the odds.
Fully embracing that faith, the Dyip took down the mighty Beermen, 106-95, to drag the stunned holders to a sudden death for a seat to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Juami Tiongson (29 points), Stephen Holt (25 markers, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals), Isaac Go (career-high 22 spiked by six triples) and Javi Gomez de Liaño (15-10-8) played the game of their lives as Terrafirma made the most of a rare playoffs appearance and ambushed their mighty foes.
“Great effort from everyone – from the coaches, to the players, the bench, the ball boys to the bosses all-around. We really wanted to win this game,” said Go, who bettered his old high of 21 while taking primary defensive duties against SMB behemoth June Mar Fajardo.
Later, No. 2 Barangay Ginebra finished off eighth-seed Magnolia, 99-77, to clinch a semifinal berth.
Ginebra moved on to the best-of-seven semis versus either Meralco or NLEX. The Bolts lead the Road Warriors in their race-to-two series.