The Creamline Cool Smashers are champions again—and they had to earn every point to win it all once more.
Creamline defeated the Cignal Super Spikers, 25–23, 22–25, 25–16, 16–25, 15–11, in a nerve-wracking Game 2 on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum before a crowd of 17,358, seizing the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference crown and claiming their 11th championship—and eighth AFC title—after three consecutive title-less conferences. The final push came in two plays from Tots Carlos: a thunderous kill and a championship-clinching block on Vanie Gandler’s attack that sent the majority of the arena into a frenzy and white confetti raining down on the court.
It was not clean. It was not comfortable. But it was Creamline.
When It Nearly Slipped Away
The fifth set told the whole story of what this team is made of.
Trailing 6–8 with Cignal surging—riding the hot hands of Erika Santos and Gandler to an 8–6 lead at one point—the Cool Smashers looked like they might be heading to a sudden-death Game 3. Then they did what championship teams do. They steadied, regrouped, and executed.
Jema Galanza broke through with a long-overdue hit. Jia de Guzman outsmarted the defence with a clever 1-2 play. Galanza delivered a gutsy push to give Creamline only their third lead of the entire decider. A disputed block touch levelled it at 10—and then Carlos took over. A composed second-effort attack. Another Santos error. Pangs Panaga’s timely block on Gandler. And then, out of a huddle, Carlos unleashed the kill and the block that ended it.
Bernadeth Pons Was Everywhere
While Carlos delivered the championship moments, it was Bernadeth Pons who anchored Creamline’s resurgence from start to finish.
After a supporting role in Game 1, Pons produced an MVP-calibre triple-double in the decider—22 points, 25 excellent digs, and 15 receptions. In the most turbulent stretches of a 2-hour, 23-minute final, she was the player who kept Creamline within striking distance. Carlos backed her with 18 points. Galanza added 12 with 16 receptions. Panaga contributed 10.
Creamline was outmatched in attack points 71-61, and both teams finished level with 10 blocks each. What made the difference was discipline. The Cool Smashers capitalized on 28 free points from Cignal’s errors while limiting their own to just 16.
What It Meant for Creamline
Cignal pushed Creamline to the absolute limit. Gandler finished with 26 points in a valiant effort to drag the Super Spikers to Game 3. Santos added 21, Tin Tiamzon delivered 14. In their Game 2 fightback and their fearless stand in the fifth, Cignal showed they belong on the biggest stage. This series will have consequences for the rivalry.
But in the end, it was Creamline’s championship DNA that separated the two teams when the margin for error disappeared.
De Guzman, who matched Cignal’s Gel Cayuna with 31 excellent sets, said everything that needed to be said. “Lahat ng emotion ngayon, I can’t really describe it. I’m just really happy kasi trinabaho talaga namin ito—five sets. Pinahirapan kami ng Cignal pero thankful kami that in the end, tinyaga namin.”
They endured. And the throne that was never truly vacant is theirs again.
