Crème de la crème — Creamline smashes way to PVL conquest

It is not the first time Creamline completed a Premier Volleyball League tournament conquest unbeaten.

The Cool Smashers already did it thrice but their latest unblemished championship run in the 2023 2nd All-Filipino Conference was extra special because of the adversities and challenges they had to go through.

Minus two key players in prized setter Jia Morado-de Guzman and middle blocker Ced Domingo, many thought that Creamline would have a difficult time adjusting.

The multi-titled club proved them wrong as it rolled through all 15 games, including a sweep of the best-of-three championship series against sister team Choco Mucho in the season-ending conference.

"Of course, the feeling of winning this one hits differently because it's our latest. The previous two are already history so this one is extra special because we could really feel the sweep of this conference," Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses said.

Banking on their solid chemistry and veteran resolve, the Cool Smashers repulsed the stubborn Flying Titans, 22-25, 25-20, 29-27, 24-26, 15-12, in Game 2 of the finals last Saturday in front of a massive Philippine volleyball record crowd of 24,459 inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Creamline, thus, further solidified its tag as the country's best women's club team after winning its third straight and fifth overall all-Filipino title. The Cool Smashers, who also swept the 2019 and 2022 Open Conferences, bagged their seventh overall PVL crown.

"We're happy we got a good result for the year that we really worked hard for. I guess the sweep is just a bonus," said Meneses, who called the shots in the team's last four titles including this year's two AFC crowns.

Filling in the big shoes after the departure of De Guzman to play in the Japan V.League, setter Kyle Negrito shared that her latest title as a Cool Smasher is a lot sweeter.

"Of course, I'm the one playing (as main setter)," she quipped.

Negrito did a great job embracing the tough job left by the eight-time Best Setter De Guzman. The result of her superb performance, although not rewarded by an individual award, according to the Far Eastern University product was the best prize for her hard work.

"I've been with Creamline for how many years but personally I would say that this championship is the most memorable because I'm out there on the floor fighting for my team," she said.

Jema Galanza, one of Creamline's potent trio of veteran wingers along with skipper Alyssa Valdez and Finals Most Valuable Player Tots Carlos, admitted that other than the fact that they lost two vital cogs, the conference's duration and more competitive field made the title run even more difficult.

"Aside from it being longer, the level of competition was even higher this time. I would say that it was an even field. The physical and mental toll on the team, not just us but on all teams, was exhausting," Galanza said.

"I guess that's the biggest difference this conference."

Looking back, Carlos saw the effort put in by everyone on the team.

The conference sweep may look like a cakewalk but what happened behind the scenes just for the club to achieve greatness tells a different story.

"We're happy. Just like what coach (Sherwin) said, we're very happy because we went through a lot. It may look easy but what others don't see is the work we put in every training, every game, our mindset so we're really happy about this championship, this sweep," she said.

Creamline ended its season with two titles and a runner-up finish in the mid-season Invitational Conference.

With another successful year in the books, the future looks even brighter for the Cool Smashers.

It's not just about the system of Meneses or its deep star-studded arsenal anymore that spells success for the club but the brand of volleyball that only Creamline has.