CREAMLINE enters Monday’s opening of the six-team Premiere Volleyball League Invitational as the team to beat-but hardly as a sure bet.
The Cool Smashers are coming off an impressive two-game run in the PVL On Tour Showdown, have retained an almost intact roster and, most significantly, have added the experience and imposing presence of Sachi Minowa, formerly Jaja Santiago.
The 6-foot-5 middle blocker made her much-awaited return to the local volleyball scene last weekend, scoring six points in Creamline’s three-set romp over Galeries Tower in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
‘We’re ready, especially now that Jaja is with us. If we can play well, I think it will make things easier for us,’ Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses said. ‘Of course, everyone will be watching us, so as a team, we have to be ready. With Japan and Creamline, people will definitely be keeping an eye on us.’
It was Minowa’s first game on local soil since she helped Chery Tiggo capture its first and only PVL championship in the 2021 Open Conference inside the Ilocos Norte bubble.
And if her first outing is any indication, Minowa looks more than ready to make the most of her limited stint with the Cool Smashers.
She will leave for the US after the Invitational to join the San Francisco Signal in League One Volleyball, making this short window an even bigger opportunity for Creamline to maximize her presence at the net.
But Minowa is only one of the problems the Cool Smashers can pose.
Meneses has a truckload of proven stars capable of taking over a match and a deep bench ready to answer whenever called upon-Jema Galanza, Tots Carlos, Michelle Gumabao, Pangs Panaga and Bea de Leon.
Newcomer Ishie Lalongisip adds another weapon to an already formidable lineup and then there is Alyssa Valdez, the team’s heart and soul, who continues to show flashes of the vintage form that made her one of the league’s biggest stars.
The PVL, meanwhile, is turning the page on a landmark decade with a new identity and an even bigger mission: To build on 10 years of growth and help take Philippine volleyball to greater heights.
The PVL unveiled its new logo Wednesday, marking the start of its 10th-season celebration ahead of the landmark campaign that kicks off on October 10, 2026.
More than a change in visual identity, the new logo represents a league that has evolved from its beginnings into the country’s premier professional volleyball competition and, in the process, helped fuel the sport’s remarkable rise in popularity.
The new design is built around three defining ideas-strength, depth and stability.
The silver element symbolizes the strength and stability the PVL has developed throughout its decade-long journey, while also reflecting the depth of talent that has elevated the league and Philippine volleyball to a higher level.
Blue, meanwhile, reinforces the PVL’s identity and unity while exp ressing its continuing drive to move Philippine volleyball forward.
Those themes mirror the league’s own transformation.
Over the past 10 years, the PVL has provided a professional stage for many of the country’s finest players while opening the door for a new generation of stars.
Its sustained competition, growing fan base and increasingly high level of play have helped give Philippine volleyball a visibility and following that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago.