For other teams to compete with the best and reach the top of the Premier Volleyball League, they needed overhauls, massive signings, and perfect chemistry.
But for Creamline to reclaim a throne it had already occupied before, the Cool Smashers needed to rediscover the formula that had worked for them ten times in the past.
Far from their usual dominant form as they went title-less in the last three conferences, the Cool Smashers returned to the peak of the PVL mountain by sweeping the 2026 All-Filipino Conference Finals on Thursday at a packed Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Creamline completed its title run with a 25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 16-25, 15-11 five-set win over Cignal for its 11th championship in franchise history.
“Siyempre, sobrang saya. Sobrang saya talaga. Kasi parang one year kami talagang hindi naka-Finals. Tapos yung excitement ng game. Lalo na sa Game 2, nag-five sets, sobrang intense and pressure yung game,” said Cool Smashers head coach Sherwin Meneses, now an eight-time champion tactician.
“Sobrang saya at nakabalik yung Creamline sa championship.”
Before this triumph, Creamline’s last crown also came at the expense of Cignal in the Invitational Conference, completing a 2024 Grand Slam and marking their fourth straight championship at the time.
What followed was a “drought” relative to their standards. They went without a title in the next three conferences, including the PVL On Tour preseason tournament.
For Meneses, the Cool Smashers did not need drastic changes, but instead focused on improving their system and returning to what made them champions in the first place.
“Wala namang binago. Talagang pinanghawakan lang talaga siguro namin yung sistema namin, pinush namin na mag-improve pa yung mga kakulangan namin last year. Almost three conferences kaming hindi nakapasok sa Finals o nag-champion. Pero iba yung usapan ngayong taon,” said the winningest coach in PVL history.
“Talagang yung preparation and time talagang binigay namin ngayong conference. Kahit na hindi ganun dire-diretso kasi may mga injuries, may mga sakit. Pero proud ako sa mga players kasi every time na nagkukulang kami, yung mga bench or ibang players na nagko-contribute talaga,” he continued.
“Talagang total team effort yung nangyari ngayong conference. Kaya siguro yun yung key kaya nag-champion yung team. May nawala, may pumalit. So yun talaga yung best na nangyari sa Creamline ngayon. Kahit sino nandiyan is magde-deliver talaga.”
