Prized hitter Tots Carlos did not care much about setting the standard in most points scored by a local player in the Premier Volleyball League.
For Carlos, it was all about the bigger picture — winning over one of the biggest threats to Creamline’s reign.
The dye-haired winger dropped an eye-popping 38 points in the Cool Smashers’ thrilling come-from-behind five-set win over Cignal, 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14, Tuesday that propelled the defending champions back on top of the season-opening All-Filipino Conference.
However, the three-time Most Valuable Player downplayed achieving a personal milestone.
“Of course, I’m grateful for this opportunity. But again, it doesn’t matter who gets 38 points or even 55 points as long as the team gets the win. The number one priority is always the team,” Carlos said.
The University of the Philippines product pummeled Cignal’s defense with 35 kills and had three kill blocks as a starter in all five sets of the match that needed two hours and 57 minutes to conclude.
“Honestly, we just followed what Coach (Sherwin Meneses) wanted us to do and just played our game. We had lapses but he just reminded us to stick to our system. Again, I’m happy for the opportunity, but at the end of the day, I’m happier that the team won,” she said.
It was also Carlos who took over in the closing stretch, hitting four of Creamline’s amazing 5-0 fightback from three match point disadvantages to frustrate the HD Spikers in front of a loud packed crowd inside the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“I just want us to win and I’m happy we were able to execute in the crucial parts of the match,” she said.
Her late-game heroics highlighted a career night as she wrote her name in the professional league’s records list with the highest point output of a local player since Sisi Rondina of Choco Mucho posted 33 in Game 2 of the 2nd AFC finals on 16 December last year.
Akari’s Dominican import Prisilla Rivera currently holds the most points scored in a single game with 44 she set back on 3 November 2022 in a five-set win over Choco Mucho in the Reinforced Conference.
Down 11-14 in the deciding frame, Carlos sparked the comeback with four straight attack points that turned the tables around as Creamline shocked Cignal by taking the match point advantage.
Pangs Panaga sealed the epic win with a kill block on Ces Molina for the Cool Smashers’ sixth win in seven outings to reclaim the solo lead heading into the Holy Week break.
“Personally, I think, it’s more on we didn’t want to lose. I don’t think we did something special today. It’s just that we really played our hearts out,” Carlos said.
“Even after we went down by two sets, our coaches didn’t say anything to pressure us. Actually, they were telling us to just keep playing and enjoy the game.”
Meneses praised Carlos for stepping up once again but also gave credit to his wards’ composure in salvaging the important win.
