“Familiar territory for us”: Jia De Guzman savors PVL Finals return after three-year absence 

Game 1 did not simply hand the lead to the Creamline Cool Smashers—it reintroduced something far more familiar.

For a franchise long defined by sustained dominance, the Cool Smashers did more than secure a straight-sets victory over the Cignal HD Spikers. They looked like themselves again—disciplined, composed, and ruthlessly efficient—and that, more than the final scoreline, was what unsettled Cignal in the opening game of the finals.

The 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 result at the Smart Araneta Coliseum only captured a fraction of the narrative. What unfolded was not simply a case of Cignal underperforming under pressure, but rather Creamline rediscovering its championship rhythm at an ideal moment in the series.

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The Super Spikers entered the finals well-prepared and battle-tested, having navigated a difficult postseason path marked by multiple elimination scares. However, instead of being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the occasion, they found themselves confronting a Creamline side that offered little margin for error, controlling stretches of the match with poise and precision.

Much of that control was orchestrated by veteran setter Jia De Guzman, who delivered a composed performance in what was her first PVL Finals appearance in three years. Returning from a two-season stint in Japan’s V.League with the Denso AiryBees, De Guzman showed little sign of rust, finishing with 22 excellent sets while steering Creamline’s offense with her usual calm authority.

For De Guzman, the familiarity of championship pressure played a key role in how Creamline approached the moment.

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“I think ‘familiar’ is the better word for it. A lot of us were talking before the game about what the feeling is coming into today’s game. Every championship is different, but it is familiar territory for us because we have had experiences before. But we know after this Game 1 is different from Game 2, and we have to do our best to close out as much as possible because we know Cignal is a good team. They gave us a hard time in the whole conference,” De Guzman said in the postmatch press conference.

The 30-year-old playmaker, who also captains the Alas Pilipinas program, further reinforced her status as one of the most decorated figures in PVL history, with four Most Valuable Player awards and multiple championship titles highlighting her career.

Creamline’s approach in Game 1 was also shaped by previous encounters in the conference, where Cignal had pushed them to the limit in both the Play-In and semifinal rounds. That added layer of adversity, according to De Guzman, served as motivation rather than pressure.

“We know what happened in the regular round. Tapos na ‘yun. The finals are a different story. And we did our best to prepare, to work with the strengths of Creamline, and believe that we can execute the best way we can coming into this game. And we are thankful that we were very focused from start to finish,” she added.

Despite taking a crucial 1-0 series lead, De Guzman emphasized that Creamline’s work is far from finished, especially with Cignal expected to respond strongly in Game 2. The Cool Smashers are now targeting their 11th PVL championship, but the veteran setter stressed the importance of recovery and discipline moving forward.

“We are optimistic. We are thankful that the team is slowly coming together. We are peaking at the right time. But Game 2 will be a different kind of fight. For now, the instruction is to rest and recover tonight, then go back to training tomorrow. No matter the result today, we stay focused,” De Guzman concluded.

Game 2 now shifts back to the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Thursday, April 23, where both Creamline and Cignal are expected to raise the level of intensity in what could prove to be a pivotal clash in the best-of-three championship series.

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