CREAMLINE NEW TRIO! STAUNTON-GUMABAO-PONS!

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Creamline puts PVL on notice with return to championship form

Creamline still the standard – regardless of who they’re missing

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EVEN the best of the best slip sometimes, and it happened for Creamline over the last seven years in the PVL Reinforced Conference more than any other tournament.

The Cool Smashers still stand as the league’s winningest team with eight championships.

But in the four editions of the import-laden conference the PVL has staged to date, Creamline has only won once back in 2018, which also happened to be their first franchise title.

The Cool Smashers did manage to reach the podium in all four occasions, though, having won silver in 2019 and bronze in 2018 and 2022.

Photo by: Sherwin Vardeleon

After a tricky start to their 2024 Reinforced Conference campaign with American import Erica Staunton (22.3 points) where they lost in five sets to PLDT, it’s been all good for Creamline with a pair of four-set wins over Farm Fresh and erstwhile-unbeaten Chery Tiggo.

‘Not like us’

Creamline’s back-to-back wins to date came in the absence of their champion-MVP trio in team captain Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos and Alas Pilipinas-bound Jema Galanza.

Still, Staunton didn’t have to carry the scoring load alone as the one-two scoring punch of Michele Gumabao (18 points) and Bernadeth Pons (17.3 points) fueled the Cool Smashers’ return to title-contending form as of late.

In the eyes of four-time champion coach Sherwin Meneses, their unrivaled squad depth allows them to win with the pieces they have rather than dwell on who they’re missing.