Creamline dropped a tense first set, then responded the way champions do. Tots Carlos and the Cool Smashers took over to beat Galeries Tower, 27-29, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18, on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The win lifted Creamline to 2-0 in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series, creating a three-way tie for the lead with Choco Mucho and Nxled. Galeries Tower fell to 0-2 at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan.

Tots Carlos, Alyssa Valdez Fuel Creamline Rally

Carlos led the Cool Smashers with 13 points, all on kills, and was named Player of the Game. Alyssa Valdez added 10 points, while Jema Galanza filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 12 digs and 11 receptions.

Carlos acknowledged that Creamline had to clean up after a sluggish opening. “We had a slow start, we had a hard time to execute where we had to deal with our basic errors, including blocking on the right side,” she said.

Creamline Dominates Galeries Tower After Slow Start

Creamline outscored Galeries Tower in attack points, 71-50, and won the final three sets by seven, six and seven points. Jia De Guzman directed the offense with 16 excellent sets and five points.

Cool Smashers coach Sherwin Meneses shuffled his deep lineup, and Carlos, Galanza and Valdez all reached double figures. That balance wore down a Galeries Tower side that had won the first set.

Erika Deloria led all scorers with 21 points for the Highrisers, who suffered a second straight loss. Shola Alvarez added 11 points, but Galeries Tower could not keep pace after the opening set.