Creamline drubs Al Naser

MANILA, Philippines — On international stage, the Creamline Cool Smashers know what it takes to represent flag and country.

The 10-time Premier Volleyball League champions showed their stuff, pulling off a 29-27, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Al Naser in Pool A play at the start of the AVC Challenge Cup at the PhilSports Arena yesterday.

Earlier, Kaohsiung Taipower and Beijing Baic Motor launched their own campaigns with emphatic straight victories.

The Taiwanese smashed Hong Kong’s Hip Hing, 25-10, 25-16, 25-14, while the Chinese turned back Saipa Tehran, 28-26, 25-22, 25-19, in Pool B and C, respectively.

It’s a short competition, with the Cool Smashers going for a sweep of their bracket and an outright quarterfinals entry versus Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu at 7 p.m. tonight.

Creamline showed nerves of steel in a nip and tuck opening set then imposed its will to take the next two sets for the straight-sets win versus the Jordanian side.

Erica Staunton shone bright on her return to her old team and unleashed 19 points on 15 kills while skipper Alyssa Valdez scattered 10 hits.

The team’s other two reinforcements, Russian Anastasiya Kudryashova and Kazakh Anastassiya Kolomoyets, were not bad, uncorking nine and eight hits, respectively.

Capping the day was PLDT’s 25-19, 25-12, 25-12 rout of Australia’s Queensland Pirates in Pool D action.