Shaq Delos Santos backs Cignal’s belief vs championship-heavy Creamline

“Malaking help sa amin ’yon. Siyempre ’yung kumpiyansa namin sa sarili namin, and siyempre kung paano rin kami nag-invest sa game na ’yon at kung paano ’yung mga diskarte na nagawa namin,” said Cignal head coach Shaq Delos Santos.

“Malaking factor para sa amin yun at malaking help, especially going into Game 1.”

While the series starts from scratch at 0-0, Cignal holds the mental edge, having won two of their three encounters against Creamline this conference.

(C) PVL Images

The Cool Smashers took their elimination round matchup in five sets on March 21, 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 26-28, 16-14. But the Super Spikers responded with a 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 17-15 victory on March 26 in the qualifying round.

Cignal then reasserted its dominance over Creamline with a 25-13, 13-25, 25-16, 25-16 win in the semifinals, which secured its Finals berth.

Despite the psychological edge, Delos Santos reminded his squad to continue improving, especially with the Cool Smashers’ vast championship experience built on their 10 titles.

“Ang goal namin ay mas higitan namin yung performance namin doon. And siyempre yung respeto talaga namin sa Creamline, knowing them every time naman sila yung pumapasok sa Finals,” said the veteran tactician.

“So ang good thing lang, and we’re so happy na kami yung makakalaban, and personally excited siyempre.”