SANTA ROSA, Laguna — Creamline leader Alyssa Valdez is rallying the Cool Smashers after they suffered back-to-back defeats, the latest being a 16-25, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25 loss at the hands of Farm Fresh on Tuesday at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex here.
It was a worrying sign for the Creamline fans as they fell to 5-3, and they have to face in-form Cignal to clinch an outright qualifying round berth in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.
READ: PVL: Farm Fresh takes down undermanned Creamline in 4
While Valdez acknowledged the void left by the absences of Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons due to respective injuries, as well as ailing head coach Sherwin Meneses, Valdez hopes they can address this as they return to the drawing board.
"Coming into this game, siguro, our mindset is really to fight and give our all. There are instances that we couldn’t really control, a lot of scenarios for our team na we really didn’t expect na gonna happen in a snap na magkakasabay. So for our campaign in this tournament, we’re really gonna fight, and we’re gonna give our all every single game," said Valdez, who poured in 14 points and 11 digs in the loss.
"Kung saan kami aabutin, dun siguro. But definitely, paghahandaan pa rin namin every game."
Creamline's Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons ride the bench alongside Ella de Jesus and Denden Lazaro-Revilla on March 17, 2026. PVL Media Bureau
While they rode the bench, Pons and Galanza were at the sidelines, cheering alongside the predominantly Creamline crowd at the Laguna arena.
"It’s definitely sad na hindi kami ganun kakumpleto. But in presence naman, alam naman namin na nandito rin sila supporting us. But napakalaking adjustment, really. We all know that Jema and Pons are the top two, most especially sa stats in the PVL now, so malaki, malaki ‘yung nawala talaga," said the Ateneo legend.
"Kay coach Sherwin, we’re so sad na hindi rin namain siya nakasama, we’re praying for his fast recovery but ganyan talaga, may mga pagkakataon na hindi natin inaasahang dadating."
Valdez also admitted to "dealing [with] some issues" physically, powering through just to try to help Creamline in its games.
"I think I’ve also been dealing with some issues, but not really, I’d say urgent in terms of kailangan bang ipahinga. So as of now, we prioritize also ‘yung urgency ng mga bagay bagay kung ano ‘yung mas kailangan sa team and kung ano ‘yung kailangan din ng team para nandito kami as complete team."