Creamline's Michele Gumabao. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA — Creamline's Michele Gumabao said Thursday that being the defending champions is "not in their minds anymore."
Explaining why, Gumabao asserted that in this brand-new, more competitive environment, they need to work harder as the other squads are also persistent, but added that they need to draw confidence from that title-winning run.
"Honestly, wala. Kinalimutan na namin. Hindi talaga namin iniisip ‘yung past or ‘yung record. Hindi namin iniisip na kami ‘yung defending champion," said Gumabao after their 20-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-18 victory over Nxled in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
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"Siyempre, we're going to draw confidence from that na defending champion kami pero we have to work na parang hindi, so we really have to work harder than other teams because they're also working hard. We have to play smarter," Gumabao went on.
A lot has happened since clinching a Reinforced Conference crown, which helped the organization win a coveted Grand Slam, completed by a 2025 Invitational Conference title.
Since those heydays, Creamline slipped to a first runner-up finish in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference, and settled for bronze medals in the 2025 On Tour and 2025 Invitational.
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Gumabao acknowledged that they need renewed energy — together, as a team — to live up to their legacy as PVL's winningest club.
She also admitted one thing: they are being held back by self-inflicted errors.
"Kailangan pagpasok namin sa loob ng court, mas gigil kami kasi 'pag masaydo kaming relaxed, as what happened [in] the first set, medyo ‘yung energy namin bumababa talaga. So, parang naghahabol kami every game and maging composed kami all throughout," said Gumabao.
"When we step into the game, [we] respect all of our opponents. And siyempre, kailangan talaga ibigay ‘yung best namin, so mahirap talaga sa 'min na kinakalaban namin sarili namin through our errors," the former De La Salle University star also said.