Sherwin Meneses not surprised with Alyssa Valdez’s stellar game: ‘Alyssa is Alyssa’

MANILA, Philippines — Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses knew that Alyssa Valdez would deliver when it mattered most despite coming from a seven-month right knee injury recovery.

Valdez saved the Cool Smashers from a fourth set collapse that led to their come-from-behind 12-25, 25-15, 23-25, 30-28, 15-7 victory over the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference semifinals on Thursday at Philsports Arena.

“We missed [Alyssa] very much after being gone for so long. We trust her a lot, and we know she’s going to deliver. Alyssa is Alyssa, ” said Meneses, who was celebrating his birthday during the five-set thriller. “She’s proven that in so many games. We weren’t surprised.”

Valdez, who came to the rescue when Creamline blew a 20-10 lead in the fourth with clutch hits to force a decider, admitted they were shocked losing a big lead but it was a good wake-up call that helped them take full control of the fifth set.

“It was really shocking because we already had a big lead we really wanted to close it out as fast as we can, We all know, F2’s system won’t let go any game easily,” said the three-time PVL MVP, who had another conference-high 17 points on top of eight digs. 

“We were just talking about it. We did this. We let them reach our points, we have to keep fighting. At least we got our mindset back to take it one point at a time toward the latter part. When it came to the fifth set, that’s what we were also thinking.  It was a really good wake-up call,” she added.

Creamline Cool Smashers’ Alyssa Valdez in a PVL Invitational semifinals game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The 30-year-old outside hitter was also grateful that her road to recovery from a knee injury she sustained last December has been paying off.

“It’s been a while since I played this kind of game also, especially in the semifinals. All the teams are really grinding it out, so I’m happy that all of the hard work for the past eight months has been doing wonders on my game,” Valdez said. “I’ll just keep on doing that and I think more than that, it’s the support of my team. I’m inspired to keep on going because of them.”

Besides Valdez’s clutch showing, the Creamline coach also commended the whole team as Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza showed the way anew in scoring, Jia De Guzman orchestrated the plays, Ced Domingo also stepped up in the clutch, and Risa Sato provided the much-needed spark from the bench.

“It was a total team effort, especially Sato. Every time we field her, she delivers,” said Meneses in Filipino.

Valdez attributed their thrilling win to their preparation as Creamline took a 2-0 lead in the semifinal round ahead of its duel against Cignal (1-1) on Saturday.

“Well, definitely, it’s gonna be our preparation. We train really hard, we train really smart with the guidance of our coaches. When it comes to crunch time, our coaches have prepared us,” she said. “I think in our team, we also have that healthy competition where we want to carry each other to the success of the team.

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