How do you beat an offensive juggernaut such as Creamline?
The Creamline Cool Smashers asserted their dominance on Tuesday, putting a stop to the PLDT High Speed Hitters' four-game winning streak with a straight-set stomp.
It also assured the defending champions a semifinals spot with a 6-1 record.
Despite the absence of captain and superstar Alyssa Valdez, the intact Cool Smashers believe they will only get better as the conference goes deeper.
"I believe pa-peak pa lang kami," Player of the Game Ced Domingo said. "Pagdating ng semis, kaya pa namin pag-igihan."
She finished the match with 17 points, with 15 coming from attacks and two coming from blocks. Two other players scored in double digits—Tots Carlos with 18 and Jema Galanza with 11.
Asked about the efficiency of Creamline's attacks, Domingo said the key to their victories is having overwhelming firepower.
"Hindi lang middles tataas ang efficiency," she said. "Advantage for us kasi lahat ng spikers babantayan ng ibang team."
The Cool Smashers have quite the arsenal even in the absence of The Phenom.
Four Creamline players have reached the top 10 in the scoring department after Tuesday's matches: Carlos with 95 points, Michele Gumabao with 91, Galanza with 88, and Domingo with 82.
When it comes to spiking, the defending champions have hogged the leaderboard. Carlos has a 39.91% success rate, Gumabao has 38.97%, and Galanza has 35.37%.
This leaves setter and co-captain Jia Morado with the luxury of choosing her weapons. And it shows with an average of excellent sets 7.63 per set. She has constantly led the setting department, a far number one from the next athlete on the list, PLDT's Rhea Dimaculangan with 4.78.
So how do you stop an offensive juggernaut—and one that has something to prove after losing in the past conference—like Creamline?
If the team's only loss against the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers would show, it's matching firepower after firepower, maximizing opponent errors, and taking care of receptions, are something coach Sherwin Meneses admitted they still have to work on.
"Yung service receives namin magiging priority sa upcoming training," he said. "Medyo 'di maganda 'yung receives namin today. Hopefully ma-improve pa namin."
That will be put to the test when Creamline takes on the Akari Chargers on March 14 for an out-of-town game at San Agustin Gymnasium in Iloilo City.