CREAMLINE outlasted Nxled in a star-laden clash, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 15-25, 15-10, in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Needing one final push in the decider, the Cool Smashers leaned on their MVP trio to close the door. Tots Carlos and Bernadeth Pons sparked the fifth set with five combined points before Jema Galanza delivered four in the endgame to seal the win.
Galanza produced 19 points in total, built on 18 attacks and one ace.
The marquee duel doubled as a finals rematch of sorts, with Creamline facing the Petro Gazz core that wrested the All-Filipino crown away from them last conference.
This time, however, the Cool Smashers had the last word.
The victory stretched their league-best winning streak to five games, improving its record to 5-1, while Nxled’s struggles deepened with a fourth straight defeat after opening the conference with three consecutive wins.
“‘Yung fifth set talaga, du’n mo makikilala ‘yung team namin ngayon, kung ano ‘yung Creamline,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses.
“Ngayon na lang ulit nagkaroon ng ganung labanan, ‘yung may pressure, at talagang naging patibayan na lang ng loob ‘yun para maipanalo ‘yung laro.”
Aside from a brief 10-9 edge early in the first set, Creamline quickly seized control and never looked back, even scoring the last four points capped by a Jema Galanza hit to take the opener.
The Cool Smashers nearly went up two sets to none, but Nxled refused to fold even as Creamline erased four set points from a 19-24 deficit, only for Myla Pablo to halt the comeback with a quick side-out hit to level the match.
The script flipped in the third set. Creamline broke away with an 8-1 run to build a commanding 17-9 cushion, but Nxled threatened another turnaround after wiping out three set points from 24-19 down.
Pangs Panaga eventually restored order for the Cool Smashers to regain the match lead.
Desperation fueled Nxled in the fourth. Determined to avoid a fourth straight defeat, the Chameleons unleashed a dominant set where they built a nine-point lead at 19-10 and closed it out by double digits to force a decider.
But in the fifth, Creamline’s championship core proved too much as the Cool Smashers leaned on their depth and experience to pull away and deny Nxled the breakthrough.
Bernadeth Pons and Tots Carlos delivered matching all-around efforts with 13 digs each, while Pons paced Creamline with 18 points. Panaga added 13 markers highlighted by six blocks, and Jia de Guzman steered the offense with 28 excellent sets.
For Nxled, Brooke Van Sickle’s 28-point explosion went to waste, along with Myla Pablo’s 22-point outing that included seven blocks.
MJ Phillips contributed 12 points, while Jonah Sabete-Escamillan chipped in seven markers along with 11 receptions and nine digs in the losing effort.
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