TOP PLAYER. Creamline's Tots Carlos (light jersey) tries to score against Chery Tiggo's Mylene Paat during the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinal on Dec. 9, 2023. Carlos earned the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week honors for leading the Cool Smashers past the Cignal HD Spikers, 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14, on March 26 with a career-high 38 points. (PVL photo)
MANILA – For Tots Carlos, Creamline's success is more important than personal glory.
Before the Holy Week break, Carlos sizzled with a career-high 38 points -- the highest single-game scoring output by a local player in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) -- to power the Cool Smashers past the Cignal HD Spikers, 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14, in the 2024 All-Filipino Conference at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
For her major role in the March 26 win, Carlos was named PVL Press Corps Player of the Week, beating teammate Kyle Negrito, Petro Gazz’s Brooke Van Sickle, and Chery Tiggo’s Alina Bicar for the award deliberated upon by print and online scribes covering the league.
“Ayaw naming matalo kasi naranasan na namin ‘yung ganung scenario before. Hindi ko lang matandaan kung sinong kalaban namin pero palagi ‘yun eh, tumatakbo sa isip ko (We don't want to lose because we have experienced that scenario before. I just can't remember who our opponent was but that's always running through my mind),” Carlos, 26 said, referring to their come-from-behind efforts.
Creamline, the defending champion, also absorbed an 18-25, 24-26, 23-25 loss to Chery Tiggo on March 16.
“‘Yung mga ganitong opportunity, masaya lang din talaga ako pero ‘yun nga, at the end of the day, mas nakakatuwa kasi panalo ‘yung team (I'm really happy with this opportunity, but at the end of the day, it's more fun because the team won)," Carlos said of her individual award.
Carlos eclipsed her previous career-high 31 points and surpassed Sisi Rondina's 33 points in Choco Mucho's Game 2 defeat against Creamline during the finals in December.
Carlos is now the second-highest single-game scorer behind Akari import Prisilla Rivera, who delivered 44 points against Choco Mucho in the 2022 Reinforced Conference.
"'Yung 38 points ‘di naman ‘yun personal points eh, team points ‘yun so kahit ilang points pa ‘yung makuha namin individually very happy kami kasi it’s really for the team, lagi namang nauuna ‘yung team (The 38 points are not personal points, they are team points, so no matter how many points we get individually, we are very happy because it's really for the team, the team always comes first)," the three-time league Most Valuable Player said.
Creamline is on top of the standings with a 6-1 card followed by Choco Mucho and PLDT (5-1), Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo (5-2), Cignal (4-2), Akari, Farm Fresh and Galeries Tower (2-4), Nxled (1-5), Capital1 (1-6) and Strong Group (0-6).
The PVL is streamed live on www.pvl.ph. (PNA)
