Creamline survives Farm Fresh, scores 3rd straight win
Jema Galanza fires 26 points in Creamline’s 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 15-4 win over Farm Fresh on Thursday in the PVL Invitational Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Photograph by Joey Sanchez Mendoza
Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
1:30 p.m. — PLDT vs Farm Fresh
4 p.m. — Nxled vs Ho Chi Minh City
6:30 p.m. — Creamline vs Est Cola
Jema Galanza filled the stats sheet with a triple-double and helped save Creamline from a disastrous meltdown in a close-call, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 15-4, escape over Farm Fresh in the 2026-2027 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational Conference Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The prized winger was all over the place, putting up monster numbers on both offense and defense as the Cool Smashers weathered their first serious scare in the short season-opening contest to stay unbeaten after three outings.
Creamline displayed championship form in a dominating fifth set outing to move within a couple of wins of securing a seat in the winner-take-all final on Tuesday.
The 11-time champion Cool Smashers raced to a 10-1 lead in the deciding frame, and the Foxies had no chance to recover.
“I think it is better that we got to experience this kind of game. We know it’s not going to be easy heading into the last stretch because everybody wants to go to the finals. I guess this is a wake-up call of some sort for us to correct our mistakes,” Galanza said.
Galanza wowed the mostly Cool Smashers crowd with her scoring prowess, finishing with 26 points on 22 kills, two aces and two kill blocks while contributing on defense with 18 excellent receptions and 11 digs.
Her hot-hitting rubbed off on her teammates as Creamline outgunned the Foxies in attacks, 77-67.
Six-foot-5 Jaja Santiago-Minowa added 17 points on 14 kills and three kill blocks, all in the final frame, while Tots Carlos and Alyssa Valdez added 12 points each for the Cool Smashers.
“Of course, we want to get the win in our third game. And I think with this win, we now have a better chance to reach the finals,” Galanza said.
“We don’t want this to slip off our fingers since we’re already here. We’ve been in too many games before where we let the opportunity slip away. So, we don’t want to waste this chance because we’re now closer to our goal.”
The Cool Smashers face Thailand’s Est Cola today at the same Cubao venue at 6:30 p.m.
After taking a 2-1 match lead, Creamline got into trouble in the fourth frame as Ces Molina, Trisha Tubu and Royse Tubino worked their way into leading Farm Fresh to a 19-13 advantage.
The Cool Smashers clawed their way back into the game to close the gap, 23-21. The Foxies moved at set point in the next play before Creamline saved to points only for Tubu to send the match to a decider with a booming kill.
Farm Fresh dropped a second straight game after an opening-day win over guest team Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam for a 1-2 slate.
Molina blasted 25 of her game-high 27 markers on attacks while tallying 17 digs to lead the Foxies.
Tubu and Tubino had 19 points each for Farm Fresh, which battles defending champion PLDT today at 1:30 p.m.
