One step at a time ends in glory

MANILA, Philippines — When Tots Carlos received her Finals MVP trophy right after Creamline’s historic Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference title sweep before a mammoth Smart Araneta Coliseum crowd Saturday night, she was quick to share it with all her teammates.

It encapsulated how the Cool Smashers’ magical season went – winning via old-fashioned collective team effort.

“Kung pwede ko lang bigyan ng Finals MVP trophy lahat ng teammates ko, bibigyan ko,” said Carlos, whose massive trophy collection included three Conference MVP plums.

Creamline had to dig deeper after losing two key cogs from its championship runs in the past – cerebral setter Jia de Guzman and lethal middle blocker Ced Domingo, who brought their talents abroad.

“Mindset namin kung ano meron kami this season, yun papaganahin. Kahit sino ilagay sa loob, gusto manalo,” said Carlos.

It started with Kyle Atienza, who admirably took the gargantuan task of succeeding De Guzman.

There were also no shortages in plugging in the equally gaping hole left by Domingo up front as Pangs Panaga, Risa Sato and fresh Game Two hero Lorie Bernardo all admirably answered the call.

And Creamline captain Alyssa Valdez, the unchallenged leader of the band, was all praises of her squad.

“No words can express how proud I am with the effort na ginawa nila today (Saturday) and every single game this conference,” said Valdez, who was the catalyst in the mighty and proud franchise’s dynastic reign.

Valdez said their mantra of taking it a step at a time worked wonders.

“Mantra namin this conference, one game at a time, one point at a time literally,” she said. “Everyone had their moment this conference, that’s one thing our coaches prepared us for.”

Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses was happy they won and they are healthy.

“Sa lahat ng interview ko, masaya lagi ko sinasabi. Ngayon, sobra saya na kasi natapos conference champion at walang injury,” he said.