Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
2:30 p.m. — UAI-Army vs
Choco Mucho
5:30 p.m. — Creamline vs F2 Logistics
Two crowd-drawers — Creamline and F2 Logistics — clash in an explosive encounter in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Expect nothing but all-out performance and thrilling action when the Cool Smashers and Cargo Movers slug it out at 5:30 p.m. following the 2:30 p.m. tiff between
UAI-Army and Choco Mucho when the league plays at the Big Dome for the first time in a long while.
The semifinals-bound Cool Smashers put their unbeaten record on the line against the surging Cargo Movers, the five-time Philippine Superliga champion who are looking to extend their winning run to three and enhance their chances of clinching one of the two remaining Final Four seats with just seven playdates remaining in the season-ending conference.
Creamline sports a 5-0 win-loss record and is fresh from a hard-fought, 25-23, 20-25, 25-12, 32-30, conquest of erstwhile undefeated Chery Tiggo last Saturday at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna.
Facing F2 Logistics for the first time, the Cool Smashers expect another tough challenge.
“We’ll have to work harder. Definitely, F2 will be a tough opponent with their depth and the veterans they have in their team,” Creamline team captain Alyssa Valdez said.
The Cool Smashers were not able to play the Cargo Movers in the Open Conference as they were in a different bracket in the group stage.
The Cargo Movers then skipped the Invitational Conference.
Creamline won both conferences.
Backing up Valdez in the marquee clash is a star-studded cast led by Turkish import Yeliz Basa, Jema Galanza, middles Ced Domingo and Jeanette Panaga, and top setter Jia Morado-De Guzman.
After back-to-back losses to begin their return to the league, F2 Logistics has strung consecutive victories to remain in the thick of the Final Four race.
The Cargo Movers are tied with Cignal at fourth to fifth spots with identical 2-2 marks.
F2 Logistics is coming off a two-week break after its 29 October match against Petro Gazz in Laguna was called off due to inclement weather brought about by severe tropical storm “Paeng.”
With the long layoff, the Cargo Movers are expected to be in full strength after missing the services of Filipino-American hitter Kalei Mau.
Mau was out with an undisclosed injury when F2 Logistics waylaid PLDT, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20, last 25 October.
Aside from Mau, the Cargo Movers will also rely on American reinforcement Lindsay Stalzer, Kim Kianna Dy, Aby Marano, Ivy Lacsina, libero Dawn Macandili and playmaker Kim Fajardo to keep their streak going.
