The kids really made things rough for the defending champions.
The Creamline Cool Smashers had nothing but praise for the Farm Fresh Foxies, who pushed the defending champions to their limit on Tuesday.
Sherwin Meneses didn’t seem surprised with the way the Foxies fared as the Cool Smashers struggled to hammer out a 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22 win in the PVL Second All-Filipino Conference.
“‘Yung Farm Fresh kasi talagang promising,” said Meneses after the match at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. “Sabi ko nga sa team, hindi sila puwedeng basta-bastahin. Kapag pinagbigyan mo talagang lalaban at lalaban ‘yan.”
While they collectively pointed out the 19 turnovers as the main culprit in the struggle, it cannot be denied that the still winless Foxies are only getting better by the day.
“Pinapanood talaga namin ('yung) games nila. All their games makikita mo na isa sila gumalaw,” said Michelle Gumabao of the youthful squad.
“They’re really coming from one system. Alam nila galaw ng bawat isa. They’re really a team,” she added.
For Jema Galanza, the match could go a long way as the team aims to defend the title without key players Jia de Guzman and Ced Domingo, who both took their talents to Japan and Thailand, respectively.
“Magandang [experience] siya. Na-experience namin ('yung) ganung klaseng laro na talagang dikdikan,” she said. “Sa mga training namin mas mapa-polish pa namin.”
The Cool Smashers remain a formidable crew even sans their key players, but expect them to face tougher challenges in their title-retention quest.
As for the Foxies, this gritty showing ought to give them more confidence moving forward as they look to continue their transformation from also-rans to contenders.
(With reports from Jamie Velasco, One Sports Digital)
(MDB)