Creamline-Capital1 duel features clash of queens
There have been only three three-time winners of the UAAP women’s volleyball MVP award.
And with about a decade separating one winner from her predecessor, the chance that they would cross paths in an official match was always going to be unlikely.
On Saturday, two of them finally will.
Capital1 clashes with Creamline in a game that will feature the last two standouts to win the award thrice: The Cool Smashers’ Alyssa Valdez and the Solar Spikers’ Bella Belen.
“I’m really excited because I want to see how our team performs against a champion team like Creamline. They’re not an easy opponent—they already have a well-established system,” Belen said after pouring in a PVL career-high 29 points against Choco Mucho to even Capital1’s record at 2-2.
Valdez, born on the same day as Belen—June 29, nine years apart—welcomes the matchup with the Capital1 top overall pick, who has already built a decorated résumé with three UAAP MVPs and titles for NU, multiple Alas Pilipinas stints and a breakout rookie season in the pros.
“This will actually be our first game against each other. I’m really excited to face her,” Valdez said. “More than her skills, I truly admire her character and personality, both on and off the court. She has that never-say-die attitude, that grit and discipline.
“I can’t wait to see her grow even more and become someone more young athletes can look up to.”
Valdez won the MVP as Ateneo’s prized hitter in the 2010s, from Seasons 76 to 78. Belen turned the 2020s into her era, winning MVP while spearheading National University in Seasons 84, 86 and 87. Before the two, Far Eastern U’s Monica Aleta accomplished the feat in the 2000s, from Seasons 63 to 65.
For Valdez, her personal clash with Belen will have to live in the shadow of a greater task. Creamline is trying to win three straight after starting the tournament with a loss.
“But when it comes to our game this Saturday? Bella is Bella. We’re very excited and looking forward to it and hopefully we can give her a really good match,” said Valdez, who scored seven points off the bench in Creamline’s 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 win over ZUS Coffee last Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Scoring tear
Belen, on a scoring tear with a 26.5-point average over her last four games, aims to power Capital1 to a second straight win in her first meeting against Creamline, with the game set to kick off at 4 p.m. also at Filoil.
The two share a link in coach Sherwin Meneses, who handles Valdez and the Cool Smashers and who coached Belen at NU.
“Of course, we’re excited. Knowing Bella, she’s really competitive. But we won’t let her control the game,” Meneses said. “We’ll see where we can find our advantages against Capital1. It should be a good match.”
Playmaker Jia De Guzman, who tallied 25 excellent sets and 10 points against ZUS Coffee, agreed but warned against focusing solely on Belen, noting the Solar Spikers’ depth with Shaya Adorador, Ysa Jimenez, Pauline Gaston, Ezra Madrigal, setter Jasmine Nabor and libero Roma Mae Doromal under former Alas coach Jorge Souza De Brito.
“They’re very competitive—Bella especially—but it’s not just about her. In their past games, you can see it’s a total team effort. We can’t afford to relax,” De Guzman said.
Meanwhile, sister teams Farm Fresh (1-2) and ZUS Coffee (1-3) battle for a second win at 6:30 p.m.
