In just her second game back from a minor knee injury, Jema Galanza made her presence felt in a big way—powering Creamline to a cardiac five-set victory over PLDT to open its 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinals campaign on Saturday.
Galanza had returned from a three-game absence but was held scoreless in limited minutes during their play-in win over Akari last Tuesday. This time, she teamed up with Bernadeth Pons to steer the Cool Smashers to a 22-25, 27-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-10 comeback win against the High Speed Hitters at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The former league MVP finished with 17 points while also providing the energy and spark that fueled the emphatic victory, pushing Creamline closer to a return trip to the best-of-three Finals.
“Sobrang, sobrang happy, siyempre. And, yun nga, sabi nga ni [Bernadeth] Pons, nakaka-boost ng morale,” said Galanza.
“And, alam mo ’yon, after ng game na ’to, ang iisipin lang namin ay maka-recover. And, mag-double time kami dun sa mga nararamdaman namin para all throughout Semis to Finals, talagang all-out kami.”
(C) PVL Images
Coming off the bench in the first two sets before starting the rest of the way, the 29-year-old outside hitter said she stayed focused on giving the Cool Smashers much-needed points and stability on offense.
She added that her strong performance came after head coach Sherwin Meneses reminded her to play freely and without pressure, allowing her to settle into her rhythm and make an impact.
“Siyempre, makapagbigay ng points, manalo, and walang injuries. Kasi mga gano’ng games talagang hindi mo masasabi. Sobrang grabe yung pressure, mataas yung pressure. So, lagi lang akong ni-re-remind ni coach na gumalaw ako nang walang pressure para iwas tayo sa injuries. So, yun lang yung finocus ko buong game,” said Galanza.
“Siguro, nag-trust kami nang sobra sa isa’t isa. And, kung meron man kaming pagkakamali o hindi namin napuntos, well, yun nga yung sabi din ni Coach na kung di kami makapuntos or may error, bumawi lang agad. So, I think yun yung nangyari, fourth set to fifth set. Kaya, nakuha namin yung set.”
Galanza, however, knows they will need to sustain that composure moving forward, especially with Cignal up next — a familiar foe they have already taken to five sets twice, splitting wins in both the preliminaries and qualifying round.
“So, pangatlong beses na namin sila makakalaban ngayon. I think, alam na alam na namin at alam na nila kung ano ang ilalaro namin. So, mahaba-habang laro ulit to sa Cignal,” said Galanza.
“And, buti na work out namin yung composure namin itong PLDT. Kasi, sobrang importante siya sa magiging game namin sa Cignal.”
