Cool Smashers see take long, tough road back to top of PVL heap

Alyssa Valdez has been providing Creamline with a lot of production on both ends of the floor lately. —PVL IMAGES

The Creamline Cool Smashers have long set the standard in the PVL, building a dynasty with 10 championships highlighted by the PVL’s historic first Grand Slam in 2024.

But after losing all their crowns last season, it isn’t about Creamline, which kept the same core since 2021, declining. It’s also about the rest of the league rising to meet the Cool Smashers.

In this year’s All-Filipino Conference round-robin semifinals, the Cool Smashers will be facing all the squads that have so far beat them here, battling No.1 seed PLDT, the stacked Cignal squad and semis first-timer Farm Fresh.

“It’s going to be a very interesting semifinals since these teams have already beaten us in the [preliminary and qualifying rounds],” said captain Alyssa Valdez after unleashing 20 points and coming up with 19 excellent digs when the Cool Smashers caught the last bus ride to the semifinals by overcoming Akari, 25-23, 25-20, 16-25, 25-16, last Tuesday at Filoil Centre in San Juan City.

“We really have to work harder and [we have to play] smarter.”

The Cool Smashers kick off the semis round against the High Speed Hitters, who swept them in their first game of the year, on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Creamline faces Cignal next Tuesday in a grudge match against the team that broke its heart in the qualifying round with a fifth-set collapse, before wrapping up the round on Thursday next week against Farm Fresh, which beat the undermanned Cool Smashers in four sets in Santa Rosa last month.

Valdez, a three-time PVL MVP who has been playing in the Sports Vision-organized league after her collegiate career at Ateneo, marveled at the rise of other clubs, including Farm Fresh, which reached a franchise first after knocking out Nxled, composed of the core of defending champion Petro Gazz.

“The more teams that make it, the stronger the competition becomes, and that makes the conference even more exciting,” said Valdez.

“It’s really good for the league because the semifinals experience helps teams grow,” she said. “We’re excited to see how Farm Fresh and the other teams develop.”