Creamline coach Meneses accepts defeat with grace

MANILA, Philippines — This time, the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) with the most championship trophies, Creamline, gracefully bowed to the new All-Filipino Conference queens Petro Gazz Angels. Head coach Sherwin Meneses bared his emotions after losing to Petro Gazz in the Game 3 of the (PVL) 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference Finals.After a grand slam finish in 2024, the 10-time PVL champions Creamline, settled for a silver finish in the said tilt. "Of course, it's a little bit sad since [we settled] for silver, but that is what we got, so we just enjoyed it. At least, we survived the six-month long tournament, and no one is injured," he told The Manila Times."Congrats to Petro [Gazz] because they deserve the championship; they really worked hard for it," he added. The Cool Smashers lost in the Finals decider via a 21-25, 16-25, 25-23, 19-25, last Saturday night, April 12, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. Best Outside Hitter Bernadeth Pons led the scoring for Creamline with 17 points, while Jema Galanza added 15 in a four-set loss.Creamline's setter Kyle Negrito took the Best Setter plum, while Bea De Leon received the Best Middle Blocker honors.Petro Gazz Brooke Van Sickle scored 21 points that night and earned her back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards for Petro Gazz.Petro Gazz earned its first All-Filipino Conference title, it's third overall in the league, winning two Reinforced Conference crowns. Meneses also shared that Creamline has a two-day break before getting back to work in preparation for the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Champion's League. "For AVC, we have two days to rest, then we'll see about the lineup, since we have reinforcement," he said.Creamline, Petro Gazz, and PLDT will represent the Philippines in the week-long tournament, which will run from April 20 to 27. All games will be held at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.