Creamline all set to unpack new-look squad
There’s a lot of new moving parts in Creamline, a team that has banked on familiarity on the way to becoming the winningest club in the PVL.
But the good thing is that the Cool Smashers will have a chance to fit these parts into their system with the new initiative of the league, the PVL On Tour, that kicks off on Sunday in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur province.
“Actually, we were caught off guard [with the tournament schedule] because we started training again late,” coach Sherwin Meneses said on the sidelines of an event in Pasig City.
“I think we have been back to training barely a month but the schedule given to us is in Ilocos so we somehow have to make that part of our preparation and our seniors will be there,” Meneses added. “Let’s see what Creamline’s performance will be.”
“It’s not just about winning these games,” he added. “This tour gives us a platform to build cohesion, especially now that we’ve added two young middle blockers who are learning our system.”
Jia de Guzman, who has guided Creamline in seven of its 10 championships, is coming back from her two-year stint in Japan but only after serving her national team duties.
But Kyle Negrito, De Guzman’s understudy, will continue to man the chief playmaker’s spot full-time even as a third setter, the veteran Rhea Dimaculangan, remains on call as she is “on leave”.
“Having Jia back is a huge help. Knowing how good Jia is and her leadership, she will be a big help. But as of now she won’t be playing yet,” Meneses said of the Alas Pilipinas skipper who was at the event but left early.
It’s a beefed-up setter rotation for Creamline, which is looking to bounce back from being kicked off their All-Filipino throne, and could create a dilemma. But Meneses sees the playmaking surplus as a “good problem.”
Meneses also loaded up his middle blocker rotation with new faces from the Rookie Draft, nabbing his ex-National University ward Sheena Toring and University of the Philippines’ Nica Celis to backstop Lorie Bernardo. Key starter Bea de Leon still nursing an injury and Pangs Panaga is also on loan to Alas Pilipinas.
“The day after they were drafted, they already joined the training so their transition for Creamline [has been smooth] and they will eventually get the system,” Meneses said. “They’re ready and will be with us in Ilocos.”
“We’re already familiar with [Toring] so we’ll continue working on that since I also didn’t have a long enough stint with NU and Sheena. But it’s a good start for Sheena that we get to continue our tandem here in Creamline,” he added. “It’s a huge advantage for her that she doesn’t need a lot of adjustments.”
There are also talks that Creamline will sign Mich Gamit, whom they recruited from ZUS Coffee. How the Cool Smashers will unpack their new look will be known when they debut against Capital1 on Sunday.
“I think [the new pieces] will have playing time [in Ilocos] because the [middle blocker] position is kind of vacant,” the champion tactician said before heading to the first stop of the tour.
“Creamline, in every tournament, in any game, gives its 100 percent,” he added. “Whatever the result will be, we’re gonna be thankful. We’ll prepare, even though it’s only for a short time, for every game including the two games we have in Ilocos.”
