Alyssa Valdez admitted that Creamline is slowly rebuilding its confidence after suffering a heartbreaking five-set loss to Petro Gazz – their second defeat this conference – last Saturday at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex.

The Cool Smashers fumbled a 1-2 advantage against the Brooke Van Sickle-led Angels and suffered a 15-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-19, 15-13 loss, marking the first time that the Rebisco-backed squad suffered more than one loss in the elimination round since 2018.

Following a one-week break, Creamline made sure to bounce back, venting their frustrations towards Nxled, 25-22, 25-12, 25-20, on Saturday at the Philsports Arena.

“We’re very, very happy. I think more than the win, it’s more of… ayun, ni-remind din kami nila coach kanina na we have to find ourselves in this game also and in this conference, and we’re slowly building that confidence and finding who we are back again,” said Valdez.

The three-time league MVP, who scored 12 points in the victory against the Chameleons, said that it is very important for the Cool Smashers to regain their confidence, especially since they will take on the league-leading Choco Mucho and the second-ranked PLDT.

Still not assured of a spot in the semis, Creamline must win their remaining chances to have a strong shot at making it to the postseason and defending their title.

“I think that’s the most important thing, especially since our next games are quite interesting and exciting, so we need to see ourselves and our confidence, so yun,” said Valdez.

“Since we’re a veteran team, it’s more about playing it all out there no matter who the opponent is, so we’re very, very happy that we’re slowly, gradually finding ourselves.”