PVL: Jia’s return to MOA Arena adds spark to Creamline win

Jia de Guzman and the Creamline Cool Smashers during a game against Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Jia De Guzman savored the opportunity to again play in front of a massive Creamline-Choco Mucho crowd after three years.

De Guzman paced the Cool Smashers’ offense to earn their first win in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference after fending off the Flying Titans, 27-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-15, on Tuesday night before 12,600 fans at Mall of Asia Arena.

“It felt really great because the last time I played at MOA was back in 2023,” said De Guzman. “Walking into the arena earlier felt surreal. Hearing the cheers from both sides on every point really motivates you and makes you forget how tired you are.”

The eight-time PVL Best Setter dished out 20 excellent sets and scored eight points, highlighted by three blocks, as Creamline improved to a 1-1 record after a campaign opener loss to PLDT last week. 

“It’s still very early in the season, so we know our performance in the first game doesn’t define how we’ll play for the rest of it. We’re really trying to stay present in training, in every game, and against every opponent we face,” said De Guzman.

“We also don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because, at this point, we’re still getting to know each other again since a lot of players came back. Thankfully, the win went our way, but we still have a lot to work on.”

De Guzman, who played in Japan and led the Alas Pilipinas program in the past two years, admitted she’s still working on her connection with her longtime PVL club after missing the local professional league for almost three years.

“Individually, we’re very skilled. The challenge is putting it all together and making it cohesive—so that on the court, we know exactly how each other will move. That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. We’re doubling our efforts on communication,” said the star setter in Filipino. “You could see in our first game that our lapses were mostly in communication. We really worked on that this week, but we still have more to improve going into the next game.”

De Guzman and the Cool Smashers eye their second straight win against ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles on Tuesday next week at FilOil Centre in San Juan City.