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Creamline Cool Smashers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Creamline ventured into unfamiliar territory after having its blistering 19-game winning streak finally snapped.
That was an experience that served as a wake-up call for the seven-time champions—that there is still work that needs to be done within themselves.
“It humbled everyone of us,” Alyssa Valdez told the Inquirer about the recent loss to a Chery Tiggo bunch hungry for redemption. “At the end of the day, it’s nice to always win. But sometimes you have to feel also—not necessarily losing—but to be humbled.”
“We were really humbled, not because of that three set loss but because we needed to be reminded that we are also like any other team—that we have to work harder this time,” the three-time Most Valuable Player said.
Playing off a loss for the first time in a while, the Cool Smashers showed that they are determined to be better after dominating league neophyte Capital1, 25-18, 25-14, 25-15, on Thursday and improving to a 5-1 (win-loss) record in the current Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.
However, the team’s latest win—aided by 14 points from Tots Carlos—doesn’t mean Creamline is going to simply forget that stunning loss. That lone defeat in their record will continue to serve as fuel for the Cool Smashers in this tournament.
“We carried the pain so that we can improve during training … we were super quiet in the dugout after that game but we knew that each one of us had a lot of things on our minds to improve and correct our mistakes,” Valdez said.
“Until now, we still have it in us because if we won’t bring it moving forward, it means that we haven’t learned anything so it will be a motivation for us for this conference,” added Valdez, who did not have to play long minutes in facing the slumping Solar Spikers.
Careless sometimes
Valdez admitted that the Cool Smashers, despite being a team chock-full of veterans, can be careless on the small details—something that they have refocused on after the defeat handed by the Crossovers, who were driven to bounce back after two consecutive defeats early in its campaign.
And the defending champions hope that it can be the key to once again be able to switch on that killer instinct when needed.
“It’s nice for us to be reminded that we still have lapses and that the competition here in PVL is getting more tense, so we have an extra motivation to really be more than a hundred percent,” she said.
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“It was really a close fight; it was really gonna be anybody’s ballgame but what we lacked was that one percent that we needed which is required every time [we are in a crucial situation],” Valdez said.
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