Can Cignal sustain mastery of Creamline?

Cignal looks to capitalize on its tournament head-to-head advantage over Creamline when they face off in an explosive best-of-three 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference finals series starting Tuesday.

The Super Spikers advanced to their first-ever all-local championship and third overall finals appearance after winning their first two games in the round robin semifinals including the clincher against no less than traditional powerhouse Cool Smashers.

Although Cignal suffered a straight sets loss to eliminated sister team PLDT in a no-bearing game to end the Final Four, the Shaq delos Santos-mentored squad is coming into the series opener at the Smart Araneta Coliseum brimming with confidence.

“It’s going to be a big help for us because those wins built our confidence in ourselves and the investment in those games where we learned how to match up against them,” Delos Santos said of his squad’s 2-1 match lead over Creamline this conference.

“It will be a huge factor for us especially going to Game 1.”

The two teams have already met thrice in the season-ending conference where Creamline won in five sets in their initial encounter to end the preliminary round.

Cignal, however, got back at the Cool Smashers in an extended five-setter in the Qualifying round to book a semifinals seat and send Creamline into a do-or-die Play-in tournament.

The Super Spikers behind Vanie Gandler, Erika Santos and Tin Tiamzon then crushed Creamline, 25-13, 13-25, 25-16, 25-16, a week ago for the finals seat clincher.

“Ang goal is to surpass our performance in the past games and show respect to Creamline. Knowing them, they’ve been in the finals many times already but it’s a good thing we’re here to face them in the finals. Excited also, of course,” Delos Santos added.

Overall, Creamline holds a 14-6 match meeting lead over Cignal since the Super Spikers joined the league in 2021.

Delos Santos is also proud of his players’ response to the pressure in facing the Cool Smashers and their legion of supporters.

“Happy about how our players handle the pressure, especially when facing Creamline. We know they’re a veteran team and how mature they are. So those wins against them gave us the much-needed morale-boost and confidence,” Delos Santos said.

The Super Spikers are playing in their first finals since a runner-up finish in the 2024 Invitationals, hoping to change the narrative this time.