Games tomorrow:

(Candon City Arena)

4 p.m. — Galeries Tower vs PLDT

6:30 p.m. — ZUS Coffee vs Choco Mucho

Defending champion Creamline bucked a shaky start and repulsed an upset-conscious Nxled side, 20-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-18, to open the second phase of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference preliminary round Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The Cool Smashers got their acts together just in time to quell the Chameleons’ early uprising for their second straight victory to improve to a carryover 4-2 win-loss record in Pool C.

Adjusting its floor defense and strengthening its block, Creamline solved its surprising struggles against a winless foe to move within just two wins of securing a quarterfinals spot.

It was not the ideal kind of win American reinforcement Coco Schwan would’ve wanted but she’ll take it anytime in a round where every victory matters.

In fact, the Cool Smashers had quite a scare in the fourth set when Nxled behind Spanish import Paola Martinez sparked a 5-0 run to trim a 10-gap deficit to just five, 22-17.

Creamline got a crucial break when Chameleons setter Jaja Maraguinot overcooked her serve.   

“I will honestly say we got a little lucky there when they missed that serve because the momentum swung back to our side and then we closed out the match,” said Schwan, who had a triple-double of 14 points, 14 digs and 15 excellent receptions. 

“So, there was a little bit of luck on our side there and then we closed out in the end,” she added.

Michele Gumabao finished with 13 points, nine coming off kills, while Pangs Panaga and Tots Carlos added 12 and 11 markers, respectively, for the Cool Smashers, who tallied 10 kill blocks and landed 10 aces. 

Creamline was sluggish in the opening frame and was troubled by a string of miscues that the Chameleons exploited to steal a set.

The Cool Smashers’ second six had a better job executing in a lopsided second frame, setting the tone for the club’s sweep of the last three sets.

“Our mindset in that situation was the need to recover first from our errors and miscommunication in the first set. We’re happy we’re able to recover in the second until the fourth sets,” Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses said.

Victory remained elusive for Nxled as it fell to a 0-6 slate.

Martinez had 18 points while Chiara Permentilla logged 14 markers and had 14 excellent receptions for the Chameleons, who hastened their downfall by committing 27 errors.