Galanza had a perfect assessment of the win: Okay pero kulang.
Errors.
This was the word of the postmatch press conference held in the aftermath of the Creamline Cool Smashers’ 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22 victory over the Farm Fresh Foxies on Tuesday in the continuation of the PVL Second All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil EcoOil Arena.
That’s because all three of Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao, and Sherwin Meneses rued the Cool Smashers’ errors in their harder-than-expected win against the young Foxies, who showed tremendous grit in taking the fight to the many-time PVL champions.
Of course, Creamline was partly to blame, too, as its committed 19 errors in the match—way too many for a championship-caliber squad so used to executing with laser-like precision and poise. That certainly was not the case on Tuesday night.
“’Yung errors namin masyadong marami. Talagang hindi maganda ‘yung nilaro namin…,” said Meneses. “’Yung errors namin, sa sobrang dami, siguro dapat trabahuhin namin ng husto.”
Again, that’s 19 errors in total.
“Kanina, ‘yung mga errors talaga namin, sabi nga ni coach, more than usual compared to our last games,” added Gumabao, who continued her strong play this conference with 18 big points for Creamline.
Galanza, who was hailed Best Player of the Game, also lamented the team’s error-filled win—all while keeping an eye on the bigger picture.
“Okay naman pero kulang,” she said when asked of her assessment of Creamline’s fourth straight win. “Dapat talaga bawasan namin ‘yung mga errors namin, kasi pagdating sa mga importanteng games, ‘di namin dapat ‘yun gawin. So, marami pang kailangang polishing sa training, and hindi dapat mag-relax.”
Indeed, the league leaders cannot afford to relax—not with greater challenges ahead in this long conference. Next in line for the Cool Smashers, in fact, are the Petro Gazz Angels, who pushed Creamline to the limit in their championship encounter in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. Their match is scheduled on November 9.
(With reports from Jamie Velasco, One Sports Digital)