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Creamline Cool Smashers’ Erica Staunton in the PVL semifinals game against Cignal HD Spikers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

A day removed from having their “hearts tested,” the Creamline Cool Smashers take on a foe that no one in the PVL Reinforced Conference has been able to touch all tournament long.

On the heels of the most memorable—also most controversial—triumph in the young history of its franchise, Akari, on the other hand, is just grateful for the chance to complete its Cinderella run.

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Creamline has never faced an opponent this hot in a game so big, while the rampaging Chargers haven’t faced an enemy with this much poise in a game that Akari will be playing for the first time.

History is up for grabs in the game for the season’s first crown, with Creamline, despite its record-smashing successes here, installed as the underdogs against a relative newcomer in Akari that has torn everyone it faced in this conference so far.

“We’re ready, we’re hot, we’ve got the energy. Let’s see what happens,” Akari import Oly Okaro said after leading the Chargers to their first title match via a controversial 25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 26-24, 17-15 win over PLDT, which is still under protest even with their match against Creamline scheduled at 6 p.m. on Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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“The toughest battles are given to the toughest warriors,” Creamline mainstay Michele Gumabao said after their stunning 20-25, 26-28, 25-18, 27-25, 15-13 reverse sweep of Cignal also on Saturday that sealed another finals stint.

“Today (Saturday), our hearts were tested,” Gumabao added.

Without prolific trio

Creamline will shoot for its first import-laden crown in six years without three of its biggest stars. But the team has gotten this far without Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza, and Gumabao believes that this will just add to their legacy and collection of eight titles overall.

“In whatever situation, you need to believe in what you can do,” Gumabao said after the come-from-behind win and the state of the team’s mind. “But if you have the heart of a champion, you really have a never say die [attitude], we really have to believe that we can push ourselves to the end.”

Riding a 10-game winning streak, the Chargers are obviously more than willing to move past that controversial win over PLDT and focus on the new challenge in front of them.

Akari certainly cannot dwell on the issues coming from its outlasting of the High Speed Hitters, who are reportedly skipping the upcoming Invitational Conference due to injuries and citing the need to rest players.

“What we are thinking now is to continue working to execute our plan and system. We are not going to think about anything else,” Ivy Lacsina said in a separate interview. “If the Lord allows us to win this [conference] it will just be a bonus.”

Being at the losing end of the two semifinal bouts, sister teams Cignal and PLDT battle for the bronze at 4 p.m.

The league is still yet to respond to the protest filed by PLDT following an unsuccessful net fault challenge on Akari’s Ezra Madrigal that could’ve been the game-winning point for the High Speed Hitters.

“Realistically, it’s hard to recover from that incident. We’ll just put forth the mindset of needing to show up (for the bronze medal game),” PLDT coach Rald Ricafort told the Inquirer on Sunday. “That’s where we are at right now—just play the game.

“Regardless of the result, we know that we fought throughout the [conference] the right way.” INQ