First-time finalist PLDT and Chery Tiggo colliding for the 2025 On Tour supremacy is a breath of fresh air for the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).

For the first time since the league turned professional in 2021, neither of the fancied teams, Creamline or Petro Gazz, made it to the PVL finale – a testament to the shifting balance of power and parity of competition.

The unbeaten High Speed Hitters finally broke their “semifinals curse” in a dramatic come-from-behind fashion to boot out Creamline, 27-25, 22-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-10, in the knockout Final Four on Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Earlier, the Crossovers eliminated Cignal, 25-17, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, for a return ticket to the biggest stage – albeit only a pre-season tournament – after becoming the country’s first-ever women’s volleyball pro champions in the 2021 Open Conference inside the Bacarra, Ilocos Norte bubble.

The winner-take-all final is set on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“It’s great to see a shift where other teams get to compete in the finals,” PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort said.

The High Speed Hitters, who have won all seven assignments heading into the gold medal match, had their fair share of heartaches after reaching the semis three times in their previous 10 conferences but coming up short.

PLDT has yet to step on the podium since joining the league four years ago.

“I think this kind of matchup shows the level of competition in the PVL. You can see that all teams are improving,” said Ricafort, who steered Petro Gazz in winning the 2022 Reinforced Conference before transferring to PLDT.

“So, those that have been in the middle or at the bottom of the pack before are now slowly improving and turning into contenders. I guess the result is that those teams are catching up with the usual powerhouse."

Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses couldn’t agree more.

“As I would always tell my players, we can’t settle because the competitions are getting stronger,” he said.

The 10-time champion Creamline missed the championship for the first time since the 2022 Reinforced Conference.