Creamline: A class of its own

MANILA, Philippines — Conference MVP, Finals MVP, Best Setter, Best Open Spiker, Best Libero – all in one team. Just how can one beat a squad which boasts of such top-caliber players?

PetroGazz proved it can be done – with a pair of prolific imports. But when play shifts to the all-Filipino, it seemed no one at this stage could measure up to the Creamline Cool Smashers.

The Angels– again – showed they can slug it out with their fancied rivals in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference – spike-for-spike, set-for-set, serve-for-serve. But when it comes down to poise and composure, the Cool Smashers are simply a cut above the rest.

Posting a sweep of a conference – 20 games in all, is indeed one for the books.

Conference MVP Jema Galanza, also one of the Best Open Spikers, personified efficiency; Finals MVP and best setter Jia Morado showed consistency and kept the team’s offense in sync all-conference long; and top libero Kyla Atienza, the most recognizable but oftentimes overlooked player in the court, proved as worthy as the rest with her spectacular saves, digs and all.

Put in Alyssa Valdez and Michele Gumabao, whose unquestioned leadership, not to mention power and experience, is second to none, and with Risa Sato, Celine Domingo, Pau Soriano, Fille Cainglet-Cayetano, Rosemarie Vargas, Kyle Negrito, Heather Guino-o, and Melissa Gohing providing solid backup on and off the court, the crowd favorites could indeed be on their way to reign for a long time.

Behind their historic, if magical run is an animated Thai coach, who would run back and forth pumping the air with full-fisted glee on every hit or save made and whose “Happy, Happy” chants are perhaps the only words one could comprehend during breaks. 

But what makes Tai Bundit a gem of a mentor and what separates him from the rest is his ability to produce results after results – three championships in the last four conferences.