For a team that has a rich history in winning, Creamline does not dwell in the past.
The Cool Smashers would rather focus on how they can dominate in the present.
“We are 0-0 here,” coach Sherwin Meneses said in Filipino at the start of their Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference campaign. “We will be working one point at a time right now.”
And after overcoming a tough showing from Farm Fresh for their season opener, the champion coach added: “We are not at 14-0 (win-loss), 15-0. We are 1-0 now.”
As of Thursday, they are 2-0, staring down Akari before emerging victorious, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, largely behind the career-high 31 points of Tots Carlos.
Tomorrow, that victory will need no revisiting.
“I’m the type [of person] who thinks ‘when it’s done, it’s done,’ especially during a game,” Tots Carlos said in Filipino. “I always tell [my teammates] to focus on the next point because it’s in the past.”
“We just really have to do and try to control what’s in front of us, what we’re gonna do next. That’s my mindset because volleyball is repetitive,” she added.
That philosophy has pushed the Cool Smashers to where they are now, where opponents feel dread whenever they see Creamline in their calendar.
But what could even throw the field into panic is that the defending champions will do whatever it takes to keep the crown on their heads.
“We need to be working to defend the title this conference,” Meneses said. “There will be no easy wins this conference because the other teams have bolstered their lineups.”
“What’s important is that we are ready for every situation so whatever happens inside the court, we are ready,” he added after slipping past the Chargers.
True enough, difficulty manifested itself right in the opening set of Creamline’s season. Farm Fresh won a 45-minute first set, 36-34, before the Cool Smashers weathered the Foxies’ attempt to break their winning streak dating back to its sweep of the previous conference.
Akari also did not surrender easily.
“We just need to know what is the right thing to do depending on the situation,” Carlos said.
Carlos seemed to know what to do after, especially after finishing with 30 attacks on a 55-percent efficiency rate against Akari.
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Carlos, along with her teammates, will put this behind them and move on to the next the way they always do: By getting better each time.
“Honestly, I can’t even believe how I am playing right now, Carlos said. “I just always want to learn.”
