Creamline salvaged a bronze finish in the 2025 PVL On Tour preseason tournament after sweeping Cignal, 25-17, 29-27, 25-17, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Sunday.
Though it was only a preseason tilt, the Cool Smashers still extended their remarkable podium streak to 18 straight conferences. Since joining the PVL, they have never failed to win a medal.
The victory was also a measure of redemption for Creamline, which fell to Cignal in pool play last July 1, 22-25, 18-25, 26-28, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
“Siyempre sobrang different nito. Sa Finals laging nandoon, pero happy kami kasi nag end ‘yung On Tour sa podium nga. Hopefully makabawi kami sa Invitational doon kami magfofocus para makabawi,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses.
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The Cool Smashers had to claw back from a 20-24 hole in the second set, rallying behind Rhea Villarete’s steady serving and clutch hits from Alyssa Valdez and Michele Gumabao to tie the score at 24-all.
Cignal reached set point at 27-26 after a series of exchanges, but Heather Guino-o’s serve was interrupted when the HD Spikers’ bench called for a floor touch challenge, believing the ball had already dropped.
After review, the challenge was unsuccessful as the ball was saved with a “pancake.” Because the challenge was made mid-rally, the point was automatically awarded to Creamline.
Momentum fully shifted after that. Pangs Panaga stuffed Jackie Acuña at the net, and Gumabao followed it up with an off-the-block kill to seal the Cool Smashers’ comeback, 29-27.
Creamline then put the finishing touches in the third set, breaking away from a tight 18-17 lead with a blistering 7-0 run fueled by Jema Galanza, Panaga, Gumabao, and Valdez. They wrapped up the bronze-clinching sweep in one hour and 42 minutes.
“Last game ito for this conference. This is the bronze medal match so talagang bigay na talaga lahat. We just really wanted to finish on a high note, na panalo kami, na masaya kami, na good vibes kami,” said Gumabao, who led all scorers with 21 points built on 16 spikes, three blocks, and two aces, on top of seven digs.
Galanza backed her up with 13 points, 12 excellent receptions, and eight digs, while Valdez chipped in 12 points highlighted by a game-best four blocks.
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Guino-o paced the HD Spikers with 13 points on 12 attacks and a block, while Erika Santos — who had been on a tear in her last three outings — was limited to just 12 points.
Santos had previously erupted for 26 points against Chery Tiggo (four sets), 24 against Akari (three sets), and 30 against ZUS Coffee (four sets).
Cignal missed out on what could have been its sixth bronze medal in the PVL but will have another chance in just four days when the Invitational Conference opens on Thursday.
