Creamline Cool Smashers’ Bea de Leon during a PVL All-Filipino Conference game in Candon. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The loud Ilocano crowd fueled Bea De Leon to unleash her near-perfect spiking clip and help Creamline gain an early share of the lead in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
De Leon drilled 10 of her 13 attack attempts on top of an ace and a block to finish with 12 points in Creamline’s 26-24, 25-17, 25-16 win over the erstwhile-unbeaten Akari on Saturday in front of 7,281 fans at Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
“Of course, I’m very happy we got the win. We just really enjoyed ourselves—it’s so much fun playing in front of this crowd,” said De Leon.
SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024-2025
“They were really, really loud. It was such a delight to hear all the cheers. From the moment we came out, they were already cheering so loudly for Creamline. We know they came from faraway places, so thank you so much for the support,” she added.
It was the second straight game that De Leon played stellar to put the Cool Smashers on top with a 2-0 record tied with PLDT and Cignal.
In their campaign opener, De Leon dazzled at Ynares Center Antipolo, nailing six blocks to finish with 10 points as Creamline opened its ‘five-peat’ campaign with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 sweep of Petro Gazz.
READ: Bea de Leon getting the hang of Creamline system
In their second straight out-of-town game, the former Ateneo star was inspired to see her injured teammates Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos finally returning to action after missing their Grand Slam run in the Reinforced and Invitational Conferences.
“Actually, in the past few games, I’ve just been enjoying it because it’s really special for the whole team that ate Ly and Tots came back, so we’re really just enjoying it together,” she said.
With De Leon on a tear, Creamline prepares for a bigger game against its sister team Choco Mucho (2-1) — the middle blocker’s former squad — in a rematch of the past two All-Filipino Conference on December 3 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.