By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Creamline Cool Smashers’ quest for a fifth consecutive Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference title is still alive.
Despite tasting a disappointing defeat in their opening match of the PVL round-robin semifinals, the defending queens came through in the most crucial phase of the playoffs, sweeping the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15, to secure another grand finals berth on April 3, 2025.
After their loss at the hands of the Petro Gazz Angels, the Cool Smashers refused to let their championship hopes evaporate and swept their remaining games against the Akari Chargers and the Flying Titans.
Creamline bounced back from a 0-1 start by dominating Akari on the second scheduled match day, and followed it up with another masterclass against Choco Mucho to book a finals rematch with Petro Gazz, the franchise that tainted their PVL playoffs record.
There was just nothing that the Flying Titans could do once the Cool Smashers rekindled their lost spark. From a rude wake-up call a week ago, Creamline just reached its usual peak and is now in its deadly form heading to the grand finals series.
Bernadeth Pons kicked off Creamline’s early offensive rampage with a string of off-speed backline hits, backstopped by the team’s tremendous floor coverage that denied Choco Mucho any easy looks.
Picking up where Pons left off was former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Tots Carlos who heated up midway through the second set.
Carlos hammered Choco Mucho with consecutive cross-court power hits and also delivered on the defensive end after tallying two blocks in the win.
However, the Flying Titans threatened to claw their way back in the third after clinching a narrow one-point lead, 12-11, before the Cool Smashers pulled away for good with a demoralizing 14-3 ending run.
Pons, Carlos, Michele Gumabao, and Bea De Leon took turns piling up the points during that stretch to formalize their return to the championship stage.
Pons top-scored for the defending champions with 14 points built from 12 successful attacks alongside 16 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs. Meanwhile, Carlos chipped in 13 markers, while the duo of Pangs Panaga and De Leon had 10 and nine points, respectively.
Kyle Negrito, Creamline’s star setter, orchestrated the team’s offense to perfection after dishing out 17 excellent sets in the sweeping effort.
“Siyempre masaya ako na nakabalik kami sa Finals kahit natalo kami nung game 1 sa semifinals. Ngayon, may chance kami ma-defend yung crown ng Creamline, then makabawi doon sa Petro Gazz. Yun naman yung goal palagi, ma-defend yung crown,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses after the semis win.
