The Creamline Cool Smashers survived a gutsy stand by Perlas Spikers to eke out a come-from-behind 25-12, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10 win to capture its eight victory and a the number one spot in the team standings.
With the Cool Smashers behind by two sets to one, Carlos and Valdez rallied the team to defeat the Perlas, who put up a valiant battle behind Heather Guino-o, Chery Nunag, and Jho Maraguinot.
Valdez scored four points in the fifth set, with Carlos and Jema Galanza assisting her in making key hits to help the Perlas Spikers escape.
With an 8-1 win-loss record in the elimination round, the Cool Smashers finished first in the rankings. Perlas, on the other hand, has fallen to 7th place on the standings.
Creamline will advance to the semifinals, where it will face the No.4 seed in a best-of-three series that begins on Sunday.
Number two Choco Mucho (6-1) and Chery Tiggo and Petro Gazz, tied for third place at 6-2, are still vying for semi-final spots in their remaining elimination games.