Year after year, the Premier Volleyball League continues to raise the level of competition, with each conference increasing the stakes as teams grow stronger and the race for supremacy becomes more unforgiving.
For Creamline, the league’s most decorated franchise, that evolution has only made the challenge sharper. Every campaign now comes against better-prepared opponents, demanding even greater consistency and composure to stay on top.
The Cool Smashers felt that shift in full after completing a Grand Slam in 2024, only to fall short of defending any of their titles in 2025. It served as a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in the league — and how much harder it has become to maintain dominance.
This is why, after taking Game 1 of the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Finals against Cignal, Creamline superstar Jema Galanza stressed that another championship would carry even greater meaning for the team, given the long and demanding road they have taken just to return to this stage and reestablish themselves on the league’s biggest platform.
“Yung season kasi ngayon para sa amin, ako sa tagal ko sa Creamline, ito yung season na mabigat talaga kasi nag-level up na yung ibang teams,” said the former league MVP, who finished with 17 points and 13 excellent receptions in the win.
“So ngayon, mas gigil talaga kaming manalo kasi iba yung feeling pag nananalo kami. Pag nanalo kami ngayon, pinaghirapan talaga namin yung game na ‘to,” she added.
(C) PVL Images
Along the way, the team’s struggles to sustain its previous dominance have sometimes led to questions about where it stands in the league hierarchy. At the same time, however, it has fueled a stronger sense of urgency and purpose to prove they still belong among the elite.
“Talagang nag-build sila ng players and parang kami minsan kinukuwestiyon na rin namin yung isa’t isa kung aabot ba kami sa dulo,” said Galanza.
Entering the Finals against Cignal, Galanza also pointed to Creamline’s wealth of championship experience — its 15th overall Finals appearance and ninth straight in the All-Filipino Conference — as a key factor that helped steady the group in Game 1, allowing them to lean on their familiarity with the big stage when it mattered most.
Creamline showed poise and control from start to finish, dominating Cignal in all aspects en route to a 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 victory to draw first blood in the series. The win came against a team that had already proven to be a tough matchup earlier in the conference, with Creamline losing two of their last three meetings prior to the Finals.
“Siguro malaking bagay lang na meron akong teammates na sumusuporta sa akin, nagtitiwala sa akin, and of course, yung coaches din ganun din sila sa akin,” said the 29-year-old outside hitter.
“Malaking bagay sila — malaking part sila ng life ko, kaya sa ganitong mga laro, alam mo ’yon, ini-enjoy mo, tinatanggap mo kasi ito ’yung mga larong minsan lang mangyayari sa life natin. So thankful ako na meron akong teammates na nagbo-boost ng energy at morale ko,” she added.
Still, Galanza knows the battle is far from over, especially with a likely Cignal response coming in Game 2.
“Hahabaan namin yung pasensya namin at ready kami sa mga babaguhin ng Cignal sa Game 2. And siguro, yun, lagi naman naming sinasabi na one day lang ang preparation, so kailangan naming maka-recover agad talaga ngayong gabi, makakain nang maayos at makatulog, then balik kami sa training at Game 2 ulit.”
