COMING off two international competitions that boosted its stock, Creamline is a marked team in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

Despite their showing in the AVC Cup for Women and in the ASEAN Grand Prix which boosted their chances to complete a season sweep of championships, the Cool Smashers are not taking things lightly.

“Hindi mo naman in a snap you can just go there. We have to work harder and work smarter. Grand Slam will always be there but that’s the motivation,” said skipper Alyssa Valdez.

“Nagti-training din lahat ng mga teams and their goal is to win. Hopefully, kami rin nandoon ang drive namin to win also this coming conference,” she added.

Creamline opens its bid for a third consecutive crown against PLDT Home Fibr at 2:30 p.m. today at the Philsports Arena.

F2 Logistics and Choco Mucho, coming off straight-set conference-opening defeats, try to barge into the win column in the day’s other match at 5:30 p.m.

The Cool Smashers’ Turkish reinforcement Yeliz Basa hopes to connect well with veteran setter Jia de Guzman to get things going this early.

The High Speed Hitters has found a gem of an import in Russian Elena Samoilenko to fill their need on offense which was sorely lacking in the first two conferences.

With playmaker Rhea Dimaculangan giving her more touches, Samoilenko sizzled with 35 points in PLDT’s 17-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-11, 15-11 victory over United Auctioneers Inc.-Army in last Saturday’s inaugurals.

The Cargo Movers and the Flying Titans hope to rebound from their disappointing start and avoid fall in a trap of going 0-2 this early.

Without Lindsay Stalzer who was placed under health and safety protocols, F2 Logistics was swept by Chery Tiggo, 23-25, 21-25, 22-25, last Tuesday.

Choco Mucho, on the other hand, could not catch a break in a 25-27, 22-25, 26-28 setback from the hands of defending champion PetroGazz.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado