Kurashiki Ablaze gained a bit of a mental edge over Creamline as they head to the one-game final for the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference crown tomorrow (Sunday) at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
This after the Japanese put one over the defending champions, squeezing out a 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-14 victory to spike its remarkable unbeaten run in the semifinal round while dealing the defending champions their first loss after a run of seven victories in the mid-season conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Foiled in its sweep bid against Creamline, Kurashiki broke away from a tight fourth set duel that featured 10 deadlocks and four lead changes as the Japanese went on a debilitating 8-0 roll, aided by the Cool Smashers’ miscues, that turned an 11-12 deficit into a 19-12 bulge.
It was practically over from there as the visiting squad scored six of the next eight points to clinch the victory – emerge No. 1 – sealed by a Risa Sato service error.
And their four-set victory over the most fancied team in the fold, which wound up with a 4-1 slate, augured well for their title-retention drive culminating in tomorrow’s finale set at 6:30 p.m.
But while Kurashiki coach Hideo Suzuki stuck to his main players in a game both teams could afford to lose, counterpart Sherwin Meneses tinkered with his deep roster, giving Sato extended minutes in the middle in place of starter Ced Domingo, and Rose Vargas and Bernadette Pons coming through with quality hits and plays.
The Japanese, however, were in no mood to slow down, treat the match as non-bearing or conserve their energy for an expected drawn-out championship battle as they played with the same resolve, patience and discipline that got them past Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh of Vietnam, the Cignal HD Spikers, the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers and the PLDT High Speed Hitters.
And rarely does a team like Creamline would drop the first two sets but the Cool Smashers saved what could’ve been one of their tough beatings in a six-year league campaign marked by six championships, stalling the Japanese with a crippling endgame assault in the third.
Kurashiki actually saved four set points to move at 18-24 but Pangs Panaga halted their run with a slide attack to extend the match.
The Japanese, however, regained their bearing and rhythm and pulled through in a back-and-forth duel in the fourth with Saki Tanabe sparking the team’s eight unanswered points with a blast.
That tied the game at 12 and Kurashiki took the next two on a Pons net violation and Michele Gumabao and Sato’s attack errors. Tanabe scored on another kill to make it, 16-12, and Pons made another miscue and Tots Carlos fired a long spike and Miho Kawamura served an ace to all but settle the outcome, 19-12.
There were also a number of disputed calls, including at the end of the opening frame that took a while to resolve but the Ablaze never got discouraged and bounced back from a third set defeat behind its combo of heavy hitters, a gritty floor defense and rock-solid blocking that delayed many a number of the Cool Smashers’ assaults.
Asaka Tamaru sustained her big offensive game and finished with 19 points while Tanabe and Yukino Yano stepped up to fire 15 and 13 points, respectively, and Akane Hiraoka added nine markers for the Japanese, who barely nipped the Cool Smashers, 56-51, in attack points.
Creamline finished with more blocks, 8-4, but Kurashiki had more aces, 4-2, guaranteeing a more furious, frenetic encounter for the hotly-disputed gold medal.
Jema Galanza top-scored for Creamline with 12 points while Carlos and Sato had 10 markers apiece and Pons and Panaga combined for 17 points.
Alyssa Valdez didn’t return after scoring seven points in the first three sets while Domingo didn’t see action at all.
Games Sunday
4 p.m. – F2 Logistics vs Cignal (for bronze)
6:30 p.m. – Kurashiki vs Creamline (for gold)