Kurashiki snaps Creamline streak ahead of PVL finals clash

Japanese guest team Kurashiki Ablaze on Friday humbled defending champion Creamline, 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-14, ahead of the two teams' finals faceoff in the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference this coming Sunday.

Kurashiki will end the single round semifinal round with an unbeaten record of 5-0 to claim the top spot while the Cool Smashers will finish at the second spot with a 4-1 slate.

As the top two teams, Kurashiki and Creamline will have a rematch in the knockout championship round on Sunday.

Tamaru Asaka continued to star for the Japanese club, finishing with 19 points all on attacks while Tanabe Saki and Yano Yukino chipped in 15 and 11 markers apiece.

Jema Galanza paced Creamlinewith 12 points as Tots Carlos and Risa Sato chimed in with 10 each. As a team, the an error-plagued Cool Smashers committed a total of 29 errors against Kurashiki's 19.

In the first game, F2 Logistics overcame a first set hiccup to deny Vietnam's Kinh Bac-Bac Ninh, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20, and arrange a bronze medal match against Cignal.

Majoy Baron flexed her might at the net with 20 points built on 15 attacks and five blocks while team captain Aby Maraño dropped 18 markers as the Cargo Movers ended the single round semis with a 2-3 card.

The Vietnamese club, meanwhile, will end its campaign with a winless record at 0-5.

Huong Nguyen continued to lift her team with 19 points as Xuan Le and My Phan chipped in 15 and 11 markers apiece.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News