Creamline, Choco Mucho clash in marquee matchup as coaches face off for first time in PVL

MANILA, Philippines—The cream guns to extend their unbeaten streak to three and reignite the Choco Mucho despite Cool Smashers coach Sherwin Meneses and Flying Titans mentor Dante Alinsunurin being the only ones in the Premier Volleyball League 2023 All. -The Philippine Conference is at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

On Valentine’s Day, the much-anticipated sibling rivalry matchup between the two Rebisco squads is expected to draw another crowd at 6:30 p.m.

The last time Creamline and Choco Mucho met attracted 19,000 at the gate at the Reinforced Conference at the Mall of Asia Arena last year.

A lot has changed since then with Alinsunurin now at the helm of Choco Mucho as the Crossovers look to finally be able to take on the Cool Smashers-a team they haven’t beaten since joining the PVL in 2019.

Meneses, a two-time PVL champion coach, was part of Alinsunurin’s coaching staff when the Philippine men’s volleyball team won a historic silver medal at the 2019 Asian Games.

Meneses is excited to take on his good friend for the first time on the PVL stage.

“We always work together. This is the first time in the PVL. But we talked about this before. Trabaho lang, apik laban yan (Just pure business and it will be a good game),” said Meneses, whose wards dominated in the first two matches even without injured star Alyssa Valdez.

Alinsunurin, who also worked as Meneses’ assistant coach at Generika-Ayala in the Philippine Superliga three years ago before the lockout, shared the same sentiment.

“The important thing for us is our respective teams. We will stay focused on what we can do during the game,” Alinsunurin said in Filipino.

The two coaches have clashed before at Turf Spikers when Arellano Meneses played for Alinsunurin National University.

Expecting an enthusiastic crowd, Alinsunurin felt he had to be more assertive with his instructions.

“I have to be more aggressive in giving instructions during the game because they probably won’t hear it. [on the court]. We hope to be consistent in everything we do, especially in the services we receive,” said Alinsunurin, whose team dropped to 1-1 after suffering direct defeats to former coach Oliver Almadro and Petro Gazz.

“We scouted him [Creamline] game so we can determine the advantages that can be used against them. What is important for us is to prepare well and continue to adapt the system we have created in this team.

Under the guidance of Alinsunurin, Kat Tolentino, Bea De Leon, Maddie Madayag, Des Cheng, and setter Deanna Wong rallied to end Creamline’s seven game losing streak.

The Cool Smashers, however, will continue to miss the services of Valdez, who is still recovering from a knee injury.

However, Creamline remains a very good team with Michele Gumabao stepping up and averaging 13.5 points per game. Team captain Jia De Guzman has also been able to bring out the best in Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, and Ced Domingo with their excellent playmaking.

Meneses is wary of Choco Mucho’s size this time because of Alinsunurin’s power to run a tall team.

But Meneses added Creamline will bank on the familiar.

“Choco Mucho is a tall team. Coach Dante wants very tall players and one of the strengths of the system is blocking. I hope we can pull off a good combination for them,” said Meneses. “I think familiarity with the team is the biggest advantage even without it [Alyssa]. Our team has a good relationship and is very familiar inside the court.

Meanwhile, Cignal and Akari—both winless at 0-2—fired for breakthrough wins at 4 p.m.

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