Creamline leaned on its championship depth and character to overpower Capital1, overcoming another huge game from Bella Belen to carve out a 25-18, 26-24, 25-20 victory in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference preliminaries Saturday in San Juan.
Despite another explosive 26-point performance from Belen, Creamline proved once more why it remains the league’s gold standard – depth, balance, and big-game poise winning out over individual brilliance.
The Cool Smashers turned what seemed like a lost second set into a defining momentum swing. Trailing 17-23, Creamline unleashed a blistering 6-0 run sparked by a Capital1 service error. The veterans then tightened their defense, trusted their system, and capitalized on miscues.
Jema Galanza delivered clutch hits, Bernadette Pons muscled through on a second-chance attack to seize the lead, and the pressure ultimately forced Leila Cruz into a mishit that sailed long – silencing the Solar Spikers and handing Creamline a commanding 2-0 advantage.
If Set 2 highlighted Creamline’s grit, Set 3 underscored its class.
The 10-time champions imposed their will with relentless floor defense, crisp ball distribution and a multi-pronged attack that kept Capital1 guessing. Though they squandered an early 7-3 cushion, the Cool Smashers refused to waver. Trailing by four midway through the frame, they regrouped and flipped the switch.
Galanza caught fire, scoring almost at will during the pivotal stretch, while Tots Carlos delivered the finishing blows with poise and precision to seal the one-hour, 39-minute romp.
The victory, its third straight, also marked Creamline’s first straight-set win since being swept by PLDT – a convincing response after grinding through four-set victories over Choco Mucho and ZUS Coffee.
This time, the Cool Smashers delivered a steadier, more complete performance – sharp in execution, disciplined in defense, and composed in crucial stretches. With the roster finally whole and healthy, the Cool Smashers looked every bit the championship core that has defined the franchise’s success.
And just as importantly, they looked like they were having fun.
“Good vibes lang kami sa Creamline,” said Pons, who earned Best Player of the Game honors after finishing with 14 points and 10 excellent receptions. “We make sure the ball is shared, and everyone gets involved. Whether we’re ahead or trying to catch up, we just enjoy what we’re doing on the court.”
Pons, a Southeast Asian Games beach volleyball gold medalist, emphasized that composure fueled their dramatic turnaround in the second set.
“Even when they built that lead, we stayed focused on what we needed to do. We stayed composed,” she added.
Carlos led the charge with 15 points, while Galanza backed her up with 13 markers in a sizzling display. Pangs Panaga added eight points, highlighted by three emphatic blocks, and Jia De Guzman once again pulled the strings with 22 excellent sets on top of three points of her own.
The numbers reflected a tightly contested battle, with Creamline holding only slim edges in attacks (49-42), blocks (4-3), and aces (4-2). But the stats hardly captured the Cool Smashers’ overall command.
With De Guzman orchestrating the offense from all angles, Creamline maximized its depth and versatility. Carlos and Galanza punished from the wings, while Pons delivered timely hits from the open spot and the back row. Time and again, the Cool Smashers had an answer – showcasing a balance and cohesion that ultimately separated them from their rivals.
Belen once again carried the scoring load for the Solar Spikers, erupting for 26 points after pouring in a career-high 29 against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in her previous outing.
But unlike that earlier performance, this one unraveled with little resistance left to offer.
Belen was eventually pulled out late in the third set after Galanza drilled an ace that stretched Creamline’s lead to 23-16 – a move that all but signaled surrender, with the outcome no longer in doubt.
By then, the pattern had long been established: when Capital1 needed a spark, the ball went to Belen. And when Creamline adjusted its defense toward her, the Solar Spikers struggled to find reliable alternatives.
The numbers told the story.
Ypril Tapia finished with just four points, while Cruz and Sydney Niegos managed identical three-point outputs. The glaring drop-off in production highlighted Capital1’s overreliance on its former three-time UAAP MVP.
Outside of brief spurts, including a short-lived surge in the second and third sets, sustained support simply never materialized.
In contrast, Creamline’s depth allowed it to rotate scorers and maintain pressure from multiple fronts. Capital1, on the other hand, repeatedly found itself resetting to Belen in high-pressure sequences, making its offense predictable and easier to defend as the match wore on.
With limited secondary scoring and few players able to consistently challenge the block, the Solar Spikers were left hoping their star could power through double teams and defensive schemes designed specifically to contain her.
Against a seasoned and well-balanced squad like the Cool Smashers, that formula proved unsustainable.
