THE 11-time league champion Creamline Cool Smashers and Thailand’s EST Cola seek to secure their places in the finals when they take on separate opponents in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Invitational on Sunday.
Creamline and EST Cola both carry 3-1 records and lead the tournament with eight points apiece.
But both top-seeded teams face formidable challenges in the penultimate day of the round-robin phase.
Creamline battles defending champion PLDT High Speed Hitters (2-2, 6 points) at 6:30 p.m., while EST Cola takes on Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (1-3, 3 points) at 4 p.m.
Sunday’s triple-header opens with Farm Fresh Foxies (1-3, 4 points) facing Nxled Chameleons (2-2, 7 points) at 1:30 p.m.
With Creamline and EST Cola holding the top two spots, victories on Sunday would effectively arrange a finals showdown between the two squads.
However, neither team is expected to have an easy path.
Creamline will have to contend with a PLDT side that appears to have rediscovered its form at the right time.
The High Speed Hitters snapped a two-game skid with a four-set victory over Farm Fresh on Friday, with Savi Davison delivering a monster performance of 32 points, 10 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions.
Despite the fierce rivalry between Creamline and PLDT, Davison said the High Speed Hitters will not put all their attention on Creamline’s 6-foot-3 middle blocker Jaja Santiago.
“She’s tall, and she’s really good, but we just can’t focus on one person. At the end of the day, all of them are really capable, so we will focus on our overall match,” Davison said.
PLDT, however, faces a difficult mathematical challenge in its bid to reach the finals.
The High Speed Hitters need to beat Creamline in straight sets or in four sets to improve their standing and potentially move ahead of the teams tied with them through the tournament tiebreakers.
The Cool Smashers, meanwhile, enter the matchup looking to bounce back after suffering their first loss of the tournament on Friday against EST Cola, 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 27-25.
Santiago led Creamline with 19 points in the defeat but acknowledged the team needs to shore up its defense ahead of its clash with PLDT.
“I think earlier was our problem. We have a pass, we have an attack; it’s just that we lacked in our out-of-system block. They scored a lot of points against us from out-of-system blocks, especially their lefty,” Santiago said.
