The roaring, raucous crowd during Finals Game 2 of the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference set a new record in Philippine volleyball history.
Choco Mucho and Creamline fans, totaling 24,459, trooped to the historic SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The two halves of pink and purple supported eventual champion Creamline and runner-up Choco Mucho – almost 2,000 more than the previous volleyball attendance record in the country.
The former landmark was set back on April 30, 2016, with 22,848 fans during the great rivalry in the UAAP – the do-or-die Game 3 of the Finals between De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University.
One common outlier in both games was Alyssa Valdez.
During the 2016 match, the generational talent out of San Juan, Batangas, ended up in tears as in her very last game in the premier collegiate league.
Her Lady Eagles bowed to the Lady Spikers, giving up the crown to their rivals.
“Ibang iba yung experience ko nung 2016 kasi medyo college, bata bata pa tayo nung mga panahong yun, and it was a heartbreaking loss, definitely, isa sa mga hindi ko makakalimutan din,” said the three-time PVL MVP.
But this time, this record meant much more to the heart and soul of Creamline as she left the Big Dome as a winner.
“Pinalitan din ng isa pang sweet na memory, one of the sweetest memories that I have right now is this win at Araneta Coliseum.
“So maraming maraming salamat nakabalik po at mas madami pang nanood, ‘di ba?” continued ‘The Phenom.’
But more than the Cool Smashers, Valdez knows who the biggest winner is in this record-breaking finale of the 2023 PVL season – it’s Philippine volleyball.
And she hopes that maybe she can still be part of more crowd history in the future.
“Di natin ineexpect na mas lalaki, mas dadami yung susuporta sa Philippine volleyball and with that, we say, Merry Christmas to everyone and sana mas marami pa tayong historic moments na magawa,” said Valdez, who came through in the clutch to help Creamline win its seventh title in the PVL.
“Sana sa pagpatuloy na paglaki ng crowd ng support, ganon din yung pag grow ng sport of volleyball dito sa Philippines so maraming salamat.”
