Safe to say, it’s unfamiliar territory for the 10-time titlists to position themselves as challengers.
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And with that change comes what captain Alyssa Valdez described as a ‘different kind of pressure.’
“We've been training pa rin, hard, and I think we have a different pressure right now because coming into this conference, we actually fell short from the last conference,” Valdez said.
“Ibang-iba yung motivation ng mga tao ngayon. Ibang-iba yung feeling ng pressure ngayon.”
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For the Cool Smashers to pass a rare acid test, it’ll all be about sticking to their roots in a way only they know best.
“In the end, I think we have to stick by our mantra to just give our best in every game,” Valdez added.
“Siyempre, kailangan lagi kaming good vibes. Yun yung pinakaimportante. We have to always go back to that.”
It’s been over two months since their All-Filipino Conference title series loss to Petro Gazz.
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As such, it will only be a short turnaround for Creamline before kicking off hostilities in the PVL on Tour with multiple stops in Luzon and Visayas.
Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses didn’t shy away from the challenges of a brief training period for the two-month-long preseason tilt.
“Nabigla lang din kami diyan kasi medyo late kami nag-start ng training. I think wala pang isang buwan yung schedule na binigay sa amin sa Ilocos,” Meneses said.
“Kahit papano, nakapag-prepare naman kami. Yung mga seniors naman namin nandiyan, so let’s see na lang kung ano yung performance na gagalawin ng Creamline.”
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But come what may, the league’s most successful club will be ready.
“Kung ano yung resulta, thankful lang kami, pero every game talaga, pinaghahandaan namin. This Ilocos [trip], two games kami dun so nag-prepare kami kahit papaano, kahit maiksi,” the league's winningest head coach said.
“Yung Creamline naman, every tournament, kahit anong tournament, basta may game, binibigay yung 100-percent. “
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