The Kurashiki Ablaze of Japan is preparing for the Creamline Cool Smashers’ fightback in the one-game finale of the Premier Volleyball League Invitational on Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Ablaze was able to hand the defending champion Cool Smashers their first loss in the mid-season conference with a 25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 25-14 victory in the single-round robin semis last Friday.
But Ablaze head coach Hideo Suzuki knew that the Cool Smashers were not at full strength yet, with Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses opting to give minutes to his reserve players.
“We really want to win on Sunday. Now that we know how Creamline plays, it will be a question of desire and heart,” Suzuki said.
“We were so happy that we were able to beat the Cool Smashers since they are the defending champions. But the final is a bigger challenge for us,” he added.
The Ablaze are expecting the partisan Cool Smashers crowd to get involved in the game, but they will take it as a challenge to snatch the PVL Invitational title.
“We’re super enjoy with the fans, even if they cheer for Creamline,” said Suzuki.
Defense specialist Kaoru Takahashi, for her part, said she will prepare herself to become much tougher against the full force of Creamline in the winner-take-all game.
“We knew how strong Creamline’s offense is, so I’ll concentrate on receive,” said Takahashi, who was hailed as the Player of the Game in their Friday win over the Cool Smashers.
“We actually don’t understand the (fans’) cheers. But we are still playing inspired by their roars. It will be tough in the finals, but we don’t want to blow this chance,” she added.
See related stories:
Kurashiki Ablaze dominates F2 Logistics, nears PVL finals
Guest team Kurashiki Ablaze in awe of Filipino support in PVL Invitational
Bernadeth Pons: The silver lining in Creamline’s loss to Kurashiki in PVL semis
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