PVL: Creamline welcomes pressure as title favorite anew

FILE–Coach Sherwin Meneses and the Creamline Cool Smashers in the PVL All-Filipino Cup semifinals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Creamline has a huge target on its back in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) but coach Sherwin Meneses doesn’t mind it one bit.

Meneses acknowledged the Cool Smashers are still the team to beat, especially after their triumphant run in the All-Filipino Conference a few months ago.

“As a champion team, every game has pressure but our players or us, in general, we embrace the pressure so we take that challenge,” said Meneses during the PVL Media Day on Monday.

“All of the teams want to beat us so our mindset always has to be right for whichever opponent.”

In December last year, Meneses steered Creamline to its seventh title with a sweep of Choco Mucho.

Right after that series, the Flying Titans’ Bea De Leon and Denden Lazaro-Revilla switched sides as they joined the Cool Smashers in a blockbuster signing.

De Leon and Revilla bolstered an already stacked Creamline squad. The only question is how they jell with the mainstays.

“Only time will tell if they’ll have good chemistry inside the court because outside volleyball, they really know each other and have already been together for a while, especially Alyssa (Valdez), Denden and Bea because they all came from the same school.”

“The chemistry inside the court is something that only time can establish because you can’t just build that right away.”