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Make that 100 wins and seven PVL titles in a span of three years Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses.
Can’t spell Sherwin without “win”.
Three years after taking over the Creamline Cool Smashers, Sherwin Meneses added another feather to his cap after notching his 100th overall win as PVL head coach.
Meneses breached the century mark on Tuesday, March 18, as he steered the Cool Smashers to a 25-10, 27-25, 25-21 sweep against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in Game 1 of their 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals bout at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The milestone also comes three years and one day since his Creamline head coaching debut, a 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 victory over the PLDT High Speed Hitters during the 2022 Open Conference.
“Medyo nagkakaedad na, pero syempre masaya at thrilled na na-achieve ‘yung 100 so sana mas madami pang panalo na dumating, especially this season and this conference na madagdagan ‘yung panalo pa,” said the soft-spoken mentor, who took over head coaching duties from Tai Bundit in 2022.
Sherwin Meneses now has a record of 100 wins and just 15 losses as Creamline’s head coach, an impressive statistic accompanied by seven PVL titles and Philippine volleyball’s historic Grand Slam during a hectic 2024 season.
The champion mentor has also returned to the UAAP, hoping to give the NU Lady Bulldogs an elusive title repeat on top of his Cool Smashers’ All-Filipino title defense.
A longtime witness to Meneses’ winning standards is none other than Alyssa Valdez, who has worked with the Creamline mentor since her days with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP. For the Phenom, winning number 100 should seal Meneses’ reputation as a high-level coach in the Philippine volleyball scene.
“We’ve been together for so long, and it’s so nice na magkasama kami na naa-achieve ‘yung ganitong milestones,” Valdez said as she beamed with pride in the post-game press conference.
“And you know, these kinds of milestones also secured or polished also kung gaano siya katibay, or gaano siya ka-effective as a coach, so I’m just very grateful to be under his mentorship as well,” added Valdez, with Meneses also mentoring the likes of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon over in Jhocson.
But as historic as Tuesday’s win was, Meneses knows that the job is far from finished, with Game 2 coming up next against Chery Tiggo this March 22.
And for the title-winning mentor, winning will always involve the never-ending pursuit of perfection and continued growth.
“Naka-focus kami doon sa future and sa mga next game, dun lang naman ako nagfo-focus palagi,” he said. “So hopefully magtuloy-tuloy and mag-improve pa ‘yung teams na hinahawakan ko kasi mababait naman sila, mga masusunurin naman.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.