Creamline continues to add more feathers to its already decorated cap, securing both the Team of the Year and Coach of the Year accolades at the first-ever Pilipinas Live PVL Press Corps Awards Night, set for May 28 at Novotel Manila Araneta City in Quezon City.
Displaying sustained excellence with 176 wins in 216 all-time league matches, the Cool Smashers have built and preserved a winning culture that has defined their eight-year reign in the PVL.
Their dominance was underscored in 2024, when they became the first-ever grand slam champions in PVL history, sweeping all three conferences of the season — a feat no other team has achieved in the league’s professional era.
The 10-time PVL champions emerged as the clear choice for Team of the Year in the inaugural awards night presented by ArenaPlus, garnering 13.6 points in total — 10.8 from media votes and 2.8 from team votes.
Coming in second was Petro Gazz, who accumulated 9.4 points — 3.0 from the media and 6.4 from teams — after ending Creamline’s “five-peat” bid in the All-Filipino Conference last April.
Creamline’s path to the grand slam was not without setbacks. Uncertainty loomed as star players Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos returned from injuries, while Jema Galanza was largely unavailable due to national team duties.
In their absence, 24-year-old American import Erica Staunton emerged as an unlikely hero in her pro league debut, leading the charge alongside a new MVP trio — Bernadeth Pons, Michele Gumabao, and Kyle Negrito — to complete the historic championship treble.
The Cool Smashers’ historic year also featured a remarkable 19-game winning streak, stretching from the 2024 Reinforced Conference to the final games of the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference. It now stands as the second-longest unbeaten run in PVL history.
Still, the season wasn’t flawless. Creamline suffered a stunning finals loss to Petro Gazz, denying them a sixth straight All-Filipino crown. But when adversity struck, their eight years of unmatched chemistry as a battle-tested family carried them through.
Leading that resilient charge was Sherwin Meneses, the mastermind behind Creamline’s sustained dominance, who will be honored as the Coach of the Year.
The 42-year-old mentor joined elite company by becoming just the fifth coach in Philippine sports history to secure a grand slam in the past five decades.
Meneses received 11 points in total — 7.8 from the media and 3.2 from teams — to top the coaching polls.
Placing second was Petro Gazz’s Japanese tactician Koji Tsuzurabara, who earned 9.6 points, evenly split between media and team votes. Akari’s Taka Minowa came in third with 2.4 points, also evenly split.
Under Meneses’ steady hand, the Cool Smashers have thrived on a culture rooted in selflessness and camaraderie — no egos, just their signature “good vibes.”
(C) PVL Images
Despite missing several key players, Meneses steered Creamline to a historic grand slam and collected his seventh PVL title — further cementing his place in league history.
He also became the first coach in PVL history to reach 100 wins, achieving the milestone in a straight-sets victory over Chery Tiggo in the AFC quarterfinals.
With a 104-18 win-loss record and an impressive 85.25% win rate, Meneses stands alone as the most successful head coach among the 45 tacticians who have ever led teams in the country’s first and only professional women’s volleyball league.
