The elimination round is over and the matchups for the Semi-finals is already set. The league leading Creamline Cool Smashers who finished the elimination round with a record of 8-1 will face the fourth-seeded Petro Gazz Angels who are the owner of a 6-3 record in the preliminary rounds.
As they take the hard court in their much awaited semifinals match, let us take a look into their respective rankings in various skill Departments. This will not certainly guarantee a win but a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each team will give us a sneak peek on what is to come.
The Creamline Cool Smashers are technically the Defending Champion
Before we analyze the advantages of one team over the other, we revisit their respective history in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) to see how they previously performed. A quick look into the list of champions would reveal that the Creamline Cool Smashers are arguably the most successful team in the young history of the PVL. The Smashers took home three (3) of the last four (4) championship trophies of the PVL from 2018 to 2019 (2018 Open, 2018 Reinforced, 2019 Reinforced) before the 2020 season of the league was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The other team that won the Championship during that stretch was the Petro Gazz Angels who snatched the 2019 Open Conference Crown from the Creamline Cool Smashers. So looking at their history and in their current seeding, the Petro Gazz Angels are without a doubt the underdog coming into the semifinals.
Can they pull off an upset? Let's check out their respective rankings per skill set.
Ranking as of the end of the Elimination Round
visit the full ranking here | Skill | Creamline Cool Smashers | Petro Gazz Angels |
|---|
Spiking | 1st | 4th |
Blocking | 4th | 1st |
Serving | 3rd | 5th |
Receiving | 2nd | 1st |
Setting | 3rd | 1st |
Digging | 7th | 3rd |
The Creamline Cool Smashers are the number one team after the elimination rounds where they only lost once so it would seem that they will have an easy time knocking off the Petro Gazz Angels. Don't count out the Petro Gazz Angels though.
Based on the foregoing rankings, it appears that both teams are evenly match. While Creamline Cool Smashers dominate in the setting, serving, and spiking department, the Petro Gazz Angels make it up in the blocking, digging, and receiving skills. We will be expecting then a fierce matchup between an offensive juggernaut versus a defensive stalwarts.
We will not also be surprised if the Petro Gazz Angels will pull of an amazing upset. Judging on their team rankings per skill set, they have what it takes as a team to drop the upset axe against the heavily favored Creamline Cool Smashers.
The Creamline Cool Smashers have the edge in individual talent
The Creamline Cool Smashers will bank on the athleticism and volleyball IQ of the Phenom Alyssa Valdez who is the best scorer at the end of the eliminations with 18.22 points per game and also the best spiker with 92 total spikes in the PVL as of 05 August 2021. It will also help that the Smashers have a dependable scorer in Michelle Gumabao who seats at eighth (8th) place (13.56 points per game) in the scoring ranks after the end of the elimination round.
On the other side, the Petro Gazz Angels will have to rely on the scoring skills of Ria Meneses who is the ninth (9th) best scorer in the PVL with an average of 13.44 per game. You can check out the full ranking
here.
Aside from her offense, Ria Meneses will be the defensive anchor of the Petro Gazz Angels as she is the number one blocker in the league with a total of 35 blocks so far. She is by far the best with the second best blocker MJ Philips had 23 blocks.
On paper, the Creamline Cool Smashers have the advantage over the Petro Gazz Angels but they should not under estimate their opponent. As we Filipino sports fans always say, "Bilog ang Bola".
