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Jia de Guzman’s Creamline comeback will have to wait.
Creamline fans will have to wait a little longer before seeing Jia Morado-de Guzman in pink once again.
Head coach Sherwin Meneses confirmed on Thursday, October 2, that the former captain-setter will be sitting out the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference that tips off next Tuesday, October 7. De Guzman, Meneses said, isn’t expected to return until next year thanks to a “management decision” centered on her need for rest.
“This conference, based dun sa mga napag-usapan namin, wala [previous plans to play]. Kasi naka-plan ‘yung rest ni Jia for this year, and then ‘yung usapan sa management is totally hindi siya maglalaro ngayong conference…[But] for this conference lang naman,” Meneses said during the press conference held at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas on Thursday, October 3.
“Ginagawa na namin [the lineup], so ngayon malalaman kung sasama ba siya, pero since ‘yung decision is final na, then most likely hindi siya masasama.”
Without de Guzman, Creamline will once again rely on two-time Best Setter Kyle Negrito, alongside veteran backup Rhea Dimaculangan-Villarete, to steer an offense led by import Courtney Schwan, and a local wing rotation bannered by Jema Galanza and captain Alyssa Valdez.
Playmaking woes aside, Meneses also confirmed that opposite hitter Tots Carlos and Bea de Leon are set to return at some point in the import-laden tourney.
“Si Tots nandiyan, naka-recover na, then si Bea makakalaro naman siya although baka hindi pa sa eliminations.”
Redemption tour
After three consecutive conferences without a championship, Creamline will continue their redemption tour in this year’s Reinforced Conference, where they hope to snap a short but uncharacteristic title drought.
As early as now, the Cool Smashers have pulled out all the stops by signing an experienced import in Schwan, along with embarking on a training camp in Thailand to sharpen their skillsets and chemistry ahead of the tournament.
“Masaya [the training camp], kasi bonding din when we go abroad as a team, then to have our reinforcement with us, Coco has brought a lot of new things to our team. Ang dami na naming natutunan sa kanya because she’s very experienced,” co-captain Michele Gumabao said of their training camp.
“Ang dami na rin namin natutunan sa local teams na nakalaban namin sa Thailand, so looking forward na ma-apply and ma-execute namin ‘yung mga experiences na na-gain namin sa training camp.”
Like Gumabao, captain Alyssa Valdez hopes that Creamline’s offseason grind will translate into a much better showing come the conference itself.
“We’re really looking forward to have a better conference this conference, so one game at a time, and siguro i-look forward sa amin is to play better.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.