Already shorthanded, Creamline battled through adversity, overcoming the absence of Jia De Guzman in a nail-biting fifth set to defeat Cignal, 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 26-28, 16-14, and claim the final spot in the qualifying round of the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Filoil Centre.
The Cool Smashers, missing stars Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons, suffered a major setback when De Guzman injured her right knee early in the fifth set and was forced to leave the game.
Despite this, the Rebisco-backed squad fought valiantly, with Alyssa Valdez, Dij Rodriguez, and Tots Carlos stepping up to carry the team. Creamline finished with an identical 6-3 record as the Super Spikers but had to settle for the third seed due to an inferior points quotient.
The victory also meant that Nxled will drop to the fifth seed for the play-in, while Akari slides to sixth.
Creamline will face Cignal again in the qualifying round, while top-seeded PLDT takes on fourth-seeded Farm Fresh.
