Jema Galanza and the rest of the Creamline Cool Smashers upheld unwavering faith throughout the challenging journey to secure the title in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Creamline would not be denied with its date with history Sunday in the PVL Finals.
The Cool Smashers captured their 8th Premier Volleyball League championship after completing a successful title defense in the 2024 All-Filipino Conference, scoring a hard-fought series sweep of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.
At the forefront of Creamline’s success stood Jema Galanza.
[RELATED: Jema Galanza, Creamline win five-set classic over Choco Mucho to retain PVL All-Filipino Championship]
The 5-foot-7 stalwart flaunted her all-around brilliance throughout the title series, delivering 20 points and 13 receptions in Game 1, before following up with a 20-point, 16-reception effort in the clincher.
Her consistent excellence, evident since the round-robin semifinals, earned her both the Finals MVP and Best Outside Hitter awards.
Beyond personal accolades, Galanza finds fulfillment in witnessing the collective growth of the Cool Smashers, particularly throughout arguably their most challenging conference in recent memory.
"Sobrang happy lang ako kung saan gaano kalaki na ‘yung grinow ng bawa't isa samin. Hindi madali. Sobrang hirap talaga kasi minsan gumigising kami sa umaga na 'aabot ba tayo?'” she shared.
“Minsan gigising kami ng morning training na parang pag natatalo kami [naiisip namin] ‘yung, ‘Kaya ba namin ‘to? Kakayanin pa ba namin?’ Kasi talagang umabot talaga kami sa point na hindi na kami aabot ng semis, parang di na kami aabot ng Finals. Pero ‘yung sa lahat ng mga pagsubok at tsaka sa lahat ng mga pinagdaanan namin, nakikita ko ‘yung mga teammates ko, ino-observe ko sila na wala talagang sumuko.”
Creamline navigated through its first three-loss campaign in the preliminaries since 2018, teetering on the edge of missing the semifinals and then facing elimination in the round-robin playoffs.
However, undeterred by the challenges, the Cool Smashers overcame every obstacle with determination, ultimately reclaiming their position at the pinnacle of the league. To contextualize Creamline's title run, the Cool Smashers became only the second no. 4 seed to make the Finals, and the first no. 4 seed to win the title since the league turned pro.
For everything she and her sister-in-arms went through, Galanza could not help but beam with pride.
“Proud na proud ako, hindi lang sa volleyball ako may natututunan pati sa personal life ko. Sobrang laki talaga ng naitulong sa akin and sobrang happy ako na in-introduce sa akin ‘yung volleyball kasi hindi ko makakasama ‘tong mga ‘to, ‘yung mga ates ko, kung hindi ako naglalaro. Happy ako di mawawala sa puso ko yung bawa't isa sa amin.”