Cool Smashers, three other squads close out On Tour in Ilonggo land

Jema Galanza (right) will spearhead Creamline’s final On Tour push. —PVL IMAGES

Crowd darling Creamline pulls the curtains down on the Premier Volleyball League’s On Tour exhibition series in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, with the dynastic Cool Smashers eyeing a preseason sweep in their clash with Galeries Tower.

Last seeing action more than a month ago with a four-set win over Nxled, Creamline will gun for a happy ending to its Invitational Conference preparations in its 6:30 p.m. clash with the Highrisers even as Farm Fresh and Capital1 collide in the other game scheduled.

The four squads fly to Negros Occidental on Thursday to kick off their pre-match activities, including a meet-and-greet with the Ilonggo fans.

Alyssa Valdez, long the face of local pro volleyball, will make the trip to Victorias along with fellow Creamline veterans Michelle Gumabao, Kyle Negrito and Tots Carlos.

In the Invitational Conference that gets going Aug. 31, the Cool Smashers will welcome back Jaja Santiago-Minowa, a big off-season signing who will certainly make Creamline the team to beat.

Galeries Tower, which split its first two preseason matches, parades its Ilonggo players Erika Deloria from Bacolod, Alyssa Bertolano from Talisay and the veteran Aiza Maizo Pontillas, who hails from Iloilo.

The other match also features two Ilongga liberos in Farm Fresh’s Maicah Larroza (Bacolod) and Capital1’s Roma Mae Doromal (Iloilo).

Farm Fresh, which got its first win against Nxled in Lanao Del Norte last week, aims to finish strong against Capital1, which will miss its Alas Pilipinas trio Bella Belen, Erika Santos and Vanie Gandler, who are preparing for the Asian Games.

Trisha Tubu and rookie Jonna Perdido will try to build momentum for the Foxies ahead of the Invitational.

“We’ll carry what we learned from last game into our next one,” the reigning MVP Tubu said in Filipino. “We really want to finish the conference with a win, especially in Bacolod. It will also be my first time playing there.”

Perdido, the Foxies’ first-round pick, continues to learn from Tubu and her veteran teammates Ces Molina, Royse Tubino and Ara Galang.

“We’ll do our best. Our last game is very important,” Perdido, a native of Tagum in Davao, said. “It’s also my first time going there, so we will give our best and translate all our practice and sacrifices into a good result.” I