Cool Smashers’ rediscovered hot form goes through wringer next
Tots Carlos and Creamline look to keep their hot winning streak going against Nxled, whose new nucleus is made up of the disbanded squad that unseated the Cool Smashers in the PVL All-Filipino Conference finals last year.
Carlos admits to being “excited to play” Brooke Van Sickle and the other Chameleons who made up Petro Gazz last season, when the Angels not only unseated them in the title series here, but also booted them out in the Reinforced Conference quarterfinals.
“Personally, I’m excited to play them again because we lost the last time we faced them,” Carlos said in Filipino. “But at the same time, we’re looking at the bigger picture. They’re not the only contenders out there.”
Carlos dropped 19 points and had 13 excellent digs to send Creamline to its fourth straight win after turning back Galeries Tower, 25-14, 17-25, 25-18, 25-23, on Tuesday night, giving the Cool Smashers all the momentum they need for what can be called as a “grudge match.”
The Chameleons, meanwhile, will come into the 3 p.m. game on Saturday at Filoil Centre in San Juan City still licking the wounds of a three-game slide.
Seven-time champion coach Sherwin Meneses of Creamline is bracing for a tough duel despite the struggles of the Chameleons, who fell to the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 27-25, 28-26, 16-25, 25-19.
“We know Nxled is a champion team,” Meneses said, obviously referring to some of the pieces on the squad. “So we really have to prepare well.”
“We still have time to improve as we head toward the quarterfinals, or wherever we end up. That’s our short-term goal for now,” said Meneses. “We still have four games left in the eliminations, and those last four games are very important for our situation as a team. But for now, our focus is on Nxled.”
Champion chemistry
Carlos is confident in the Cool Smashers’ battle-tested chemistry, as evidenced in the way they bounced back even after blowing a 12-1 margin in the fourth and had the Highrisers threatening to force a decider.
“The team has already grown. We’ve had a lot of experiences, so that kind of situation wasn’t new to us,” Carlos said. “We just had to go back to our basics and stick to our system.”
“Everyone has gained experience individually, not just as a team. I think we handled that situation well and were able to fight through it.”
Meanwhile, PLDT seeks to regain the solo lead when it faces Farm Fresh at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, even as Akari eyes its third straight win against the Bella Belen-led Capital1 side in the 4 p.m. curtain-raiser.
