Trust fueled Bea de Leon’s fine performance in the Creamline Cool Smashers’ crucial straight-set victory over her former team, the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Bea de Leon found herself caught in a tug-of-war of emotions on Thursday night.
Known for her relentless on-court fire, de Leon could not help but feel nervous as Creamline faced her former team, Choco Mucho, for the first time in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
The 5-foot-11 middle blocker knew she had to perform to the best of her abilities, but the high stakes of the showdown, where a loss could impede the title-retention hopes of the Cool Smashers, weighed down on her.
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In such a pressure-packed situation, de Leon drew strength from the unwavering trust of Alyssa Valdez and the rest of the Cool Smashers, allowing her to leave an imprint on the resounding 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 victory over the Flying Titans.
“For me, siguro at some point talagang big game din kinabahan din ako at some point. Talagang nakikita mo rin talaga sa teammates ko and coaches ko na grabe ‘yung guidance and tiwala sa akin na andyan lang talaga sila, literally behind my back. Ate Ly is always there, whispering wisdom,” shared de Leon, who finished with nine points built on six attacks and three blocks.
“‘Yung tiwala nila yun yung nagpakalma sa akin na sa tiwala ko sa sarili ko and lalo na sa ginagawa ng team.”
The sweep strengthened Creamline’s position in the intense semis race, elevating its record to 8-2, good for solo second. While the Cool Smashers and the Flying Titans both have 8-2 records and 24 points, Choco Mucho has the edge in set ratio.
The win over league-leading Choco Mucho though gave de Leon and Co. a much-needed confidence boost.
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“Sobrang happy namin na nakuha namin 'to. Sobrang big game niya for us, as you guys know,” de Leon said.
“Sobrang thankful ko lang na nandito kami sa point na ‘to na nakuha namin ‘yung panalo and talagang sama-sama namin ginawa ‘yung trabaho namin lalo na sa ginagalaw ng Choco. We saw naman how their conference has been talagang nag push din kami. Sobrang blessed lang talaga.”
More than anything, de Leon feels incredibly blessed to continue flourishing in Creamline.
Several months ago, the former Choco Mucho captain had played a limited role for the Flying Titans in the 2023 Second All-Filipino Conference, spending most of her time on the bench.
De Leon then ended her four-year stay with Choco Mucho, crossing over the fence to Creamline, where she found a sense of contentment and purpose.
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“Yes, sobrang at peace ako kung nasaan ako ngayon. Not a day goes by na hindi ako thankful sa mga kasama ko at sa mga coaches ko na binigyan ako ng isa pang chance,” she said.
“Isa pong karangalan talaga na nandito po kami ngayon. I’m just thankful to all of them, to Ate Ly and Coach Sherwin na nagtiwala sa akin. So yeah my heart is at peace.”