By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
All hail to the queens of Philippine Volleyball, the Creamline Cool Smashers!
After a roller coaster conference with a lot of ups and downs, the stacked and veteran-laden Creamline franchise once again found a way to escape the dark tunnel and capped off its Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference campaign with another championship title.
It wasn’t an easy task to bag another championship trophy as the Cool Smashers needed five close sets to dispatch the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in Game 2 of their grand finals series, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11, on May 12, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With a 2-0 grand final series sweeping win, the Cool Smashers just bagged its third consecutive PVL All-Filipino championship trophy and their eighth overall as a franchise.
Things didn’t start Creamline’s way as Choco Mucho immediately jumped into the driver’s seat by taking the first set in an impressive fashion.
Sisi Rondina was in the zone for the Flying Titans and quickly fired seven points in the opening frame, leading the way for Choco Mucho in the scoring department.
However, the Creamline counterattack was once again witnessed by the 23,162 fans in attendance as the Cool Smashers quickly leveled the game at 1-1, thanks to a consistent scoring performance from Jema Galanza.
From that point, Game 2 of the finals became a see-saw affair as both teams traded set wins, forcing a deciding fifth-set duel.
Creamline struck first in the fifth as they built early momentum from their crisp 1-2 plays from the middle while also displaying tremendous floor coverage defense.
The Cool Smashers took advantage of Rondina’s long stay at the backline and operated on both ends of the floor to seal another sizable lead.
With the game on the line and the Cool Smashers only needing a point to get the crown, Bea De Leon, a former member of the Flying Titans, iced the game with the game-sealing point to deliver the crown to Creamline.
Galanza led the Cool Smashers with 20 big points built from 18 successful attacks to go alongside eight excellent receptions and five excellent digs.
Backstopping Galanza during their title-clinching win was Bernadeth Pons, their ever-reliable scorer off the bench who dropped 17 crucial points.
“Our players give 110 percent in training, never tiring even during our three-hour sessions. The game is always there and it’s all thanks to the players, not us coaches,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses after another championship run.
