Jia De Guzman’s highly anticipated return to Creamline will have to wait.
Team captain Alyssa Valdez revealed on Thursday afternoon that her long-time teammate will be sitting out the upcoming 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.
“I think our management, Creamline, has decided na Jia will sit this out. She’s not playing this conference,” Valdez told reporters before the start of the import-laced tourney presser at Discovery Suites in Pasig.
De Guzman is coming off a grueling national team window with Alas Pilipinas, where she led the squad to a historic silver medal in the AVC Nations Cup and back-to-back bronze finishes in the Southeast Asian V.League.
(C) PVL Images
The eight-time PVL Best Setter has yet to reveal her next move, though she is expected to prioritize national team duties as Alas Pilipinas gears up for the Southeast Asian Games this December.
Meanwhile, Creamline just wrapped up its training camp in Thailand, hoping to reclaim the top spot in the PVL after finishing second in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference and third in both the 2025 On Tour and Invitational tournaments.
The Cool Smashers also added import Courtney Schwan, and Michele Gumabao said the American reinforcement has already brought plenty of positives to the team’s redemption campaign.
“Masaya, siyempre bonding din everytime we go abroad as a team. Tapos we have a reinforcement din with us, Coco has brought a lot of new things to our team,” said Gumabao.
“Ang dami rin naming natututunan sa kanya because she’s very experienced and sa mga local teams na nakalaban namin sa Thailand. So looking forward na ma-apply lahat ng experiences na na-gain namin through our training camp.”
