Facing a perfect storm of absences, Creamline Cool Smashers captain Alyssa Valdez rallied her teammates to give everything on the court despite a challenging night in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.
The Cool Smashers were missing three key figures in their four-set loss to Farm Fresh at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex on Tuesday: head coach Sherwin Meneses, and leading scorers Bernadeth Pons and Jema Galanza.
“Coming into this game, siguro our mindset really is to fight and give our all. There are instances that we couldn’t really control, a lot of scenarios for our team na we really didn’t expect na gonna happen in a snap na magkakasabay,” Valdez said, who finished with 14 points in the loss.
“It’s definitely sad na hindi kami ganun kakumpleto. But in terms of presence naman, alam naman namin na nandito rin sila supporting us. But napakalaking adjustment, really."
The absence of their trio was immediately felt as Creamline, aiming to lock in a qualifying round spot, quickly fell behind 0-2. The team struggled to find its rhythm against a determined Farm Fresh squad.
A spark came in the third set as Tots Carlos, Dij Rodriguez, Jeanette Panaga, Jia De Guzman, and Valdez helped the Cool Smashers dominate, but Farm Fresh regained control in the fourth set to close out the match.
“We all know that Jema and Pons are the top two, most especially sa stats in the PVL now so malaki, malaki ‘yung nawala talaga. But positive din naman ‘yung dalawa na makatulong pa rin at mas makabalik rin sila nang mas maayos,” Valdez added.
“Kay Coach Sherwin, we’re so sad na hindi rin namin siya nakasama. We’re praying for his fast recovery, but ganyan talaga, may mga pagkakataon na hindi natin inaasahang darating."
Despite the setback, Creamline still controls its fate. A win against Cignal on Saturday is crucial to avoid slipping into the play-in round.
Valdez emphasized resilience as the guiding principle moving forward.
"So for our campaign in this tournament, we’re really gonna fight, and we’re gonna give our all every single game. Kung saan kami aabutin, dun siguro. But definitely, paghahandaan pa rin namin every game,” she said.
“We really have to be prepared, and we really have to fight. Siguro isa ‘yun sa mga natutunan namin, we have to fight, we have to give our all, at kung saan kami abutin, ‘yun na siguro ‘yung mas importante. But at least buo kami, we’re together still.”
