PLDT star spiker Savi Davison. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA (UPDATED) — PLDT made sure to spoil Jia de Guzman's first game back with Creamline.
The High Speed Hitters turned back the Cool Smashers, 25-22, 25-17, 25-23, to grab their first win in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Thursday at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The Creamline faithful saw De Guzman's comeback after almost three years with Japan's Denso Airybees, returning alongside Jema Galanza, who recovered from a foot injury; and Bernadeth Pons, who is coming from a golden finish at the SEA Games beach volleyball.
Savi Davison led the PLDT's dominant efforts with an all-around showing of 26 points 11 digs, and 10 receptions at a predominantly Creamline crowd — to which she acknowledged that it is an exhausting situation to play at.
"I've been working a lot on patience and waiting all week, and trying to come out strong because Creamline and their fans, they can make it a really hard environment to play in," Davison expressed after the match.
"I'm just glad that we were able to keep calm and stick to our 80 percent throughout the match," she added.
After PLDT appeared to break away at 20-17 in the third set, the Cool Smashers came through and even tied the game at 23-all.
But that's when Davison did what she does best — a sharp attack for PLDT to reach match point, and Jovy Prado with a stunning kill block on Tots Carlos to put away Creamline in just one hour and 36 minutes.
READ: PVL: Jia de Guzman still 'trying to find my way with the team' in Creamline return
"'Yun nga, every time na Creamline talaga 'yung kalaban, gusto talaga namin 'yung challenge," said Coach Rald Ricafort.
"Nilalabas talaga nila 'yung laro ng mga players na alam nila na big game talaga palagi, especially bumalik si Jia [de Guzman] and [Bernadeth] Pons, mataas 'yung respect namin sa dalawa. Kaya naging gano'n din 'yung tutok," he added.
No other High Speed Hitter breached twin-digit scoring, but they asserted their force on the net with eight kill blocks, compared to the three of the Cool Smashers.
On her first game back for Creamline, Pons had a triple-double of 13 points, 11 excellent digs, and 10 excellent receptions, while De Guzman had 12 excellent sets.
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