The starters for the 2026 All-Star Volleyball Showcase have officially been unveiled on Monday, building anticipation for the much-awaited spectacle set on May 1 in Candon City, where the sport’s brightest names will take center stage.

Through fan voting held from March 12 to April 11, supporters of the Premier Volleyball League and Spikers’ Turf selected the starting lineups for their respective All-Star clashes.

In the PVL All-Star Game, Creamline setter Jia De Guzman headlines Team Heart, while PLDT playmaker Kim Fajardo leads Team Hustle, setting up a marquee clash between two of the league’s premier floor generals in the showcase.

Joining De Guzman in Team Heart are Cool Smashers teammate Jema Galanza and Capital1 rookie Bella Belen, who finished 1-2 in the outside hitter voting, while Cignal’s Erika Santos takes the opposite spiker spot.

Another Creamline ace in Jeanette Panaga reinforces Team Heart alongside PLDT’s Majoy Baron, who finished first and second in the middle blocker voting, respectively, while Akari’s Justine Jazareno, who dominated the libero race, anchors the floor defense.

Over at Team Hustle, Fajardo will be joined by three PLDT teammates in Kianna Dy at opposite hitter, Mika Reyes at middle blocker, and Kath Arado at libero, forming a familiar core from the High Speed Hitters, alongside key reinforcements from other squads.

Bernadeth Pons of Creamline and Eya Laure of Choco Mucho, who topped the outside hitter voting, round out Team Hustle’s wing spikers, while Akari’s Fifi Sharma, who finished second in the middle blocker race, completes the lineup at the net.

In the Spikers’ Turf All-Star Game, Criss Cross’ Jude Garcia and Savouge’s Mark Calado headline the starting lineups for Team Power and Team Passion, respectively, setting the tone for a marquee clash between two of the league’s best opposite spikers.

The King Crunchers’ core will also be heavily represented in Team Power, with setter Adrian Villados, outside hitter Noel Kampton, middle blocker Lloyd Josafat, and libero Menard Guerrero teaming up with Garcia.

Spin Doctors JP Bugaoan and Louie Ramirez will complete Team Power’s middle blocker and outside hitter slots, respectively.

Calado, meanwhile, will also have a familiar group by his side in Team Passion, with Savouge setter Vince Imperial, middle blocker Giles Torres, and libero Rikko Marmeto comprising the squad.

Criss Cross’ Alche Gupiteo and Alpha Insurance’s Jau Umandal will man the outside hitter positions, while another King Cruncher in Poy Colinares fills the other middle blocker spot for Team Passion, rounding out the lineup.

The reserves, meanwhile, will be announced on April 20 following a comprehensive voting process involving head coaches, players, team managers, the PVL Control Committee, referees and technical committee, broadcast and production staff, and the PVL Press Corps.

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Creamline showed its trademark composure under pressure, turning back a surging PLDT side to escape with a gritty five-set victory, 22-25, 27-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-10, for a dramatic start to its 2025 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinals campaign on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Cool Smashers had to dig deep against an in-form High Speed Hitters squad, pulling through in extended second and fourth sets before closing it out strong in the decider, much to the delight of a roaring 12,441-strong crowd. The win also put Creamline level with Cignal atop the early semifinals standings, both holding identical 1-0 records.

“Siyempre, masayang-masaya kasi, unang-una, very entertaining ‘yung game para sa mga fans. Sobrang daming tao at sobrang daming fans,” said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses.

(C) PVL Images

Bernadeth Pons was all over the court in the Cool Smashers’ hard-fought victory, firing a game-high 28 points on 21 attacks, four kill blocks, and three aces, while also tallying 16 excellent digs and 22 excellent receptions in a monster triple-double performance that drew “MVPons” chants from the pink-clad supporters.

“Siyempre, sobrang morale booster nitong game na ito sa amin, kasi semis na ‘to. Sobrang importante talaga na makakuha kami ng panalo,” said the former Invitational Conference MVP.

With the match slowly slipping away in the fourth set, Creamline leaned on its championship pedigree and erased three PLDT match points. Jema Galanza and Tots Carlos delivered clutch hits before Savannah Davison’s crucial attack error forced a deciding fifth set.

That gutsy fourth-set escape ultimately paved the way for the Cool Smashers’ strong fifth-set performance, where Galanza, Pons, and Bea De Leon combined for a 5-0 blast that turned a slim 5-4 edge into a commanding 10-4 lead.

From there, Creamline held firm, doing just enough to finally solve the High Speed Hitters and snap a four-game losing streak against them, with its last win over PLDT coming in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference on July 30.

“Masayang-masaya kami na nakuha namin ‘yung panalo at naka-isa rin kami sa PLDT. Pero hindi pa tapos ‘yung trabaho—kumbaga, nag-uumpisa pa lang ngayon. Magpa-practice kami ng two days for Cignal, then trabaho ulit. Ayun ‘yung mindset namin,” said Meneses.

Galanza, who played limited minutes in their previous win over Akari in the play-in and finished scoreless, erupted for 17 points, while team captain Alyssa Valdez added 10 points in just three sets in the two-hour-and-20-minute victory.

Three players—Jeanette Panaga, De Leon, and Carlos—all finished with eight points apiece. Jia De Guzman dished out 20 excellent sets off the bench, while Kyla Atienza anchored the floor with 17 excellent digs as the Cool Smashers, despite yielding 31 errors, stayed composed in the clutch to secure the important win.

Creamline will look to strengthen its push for a Finals return when it takes on streaking Cignal on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the same venue.

(C) PVL Images

Meanwhile, PLDT is now tied with Farm Fresh at the bottom with 0-1 slates, both facing must-win situations early in the round-robin semifinals to stay in contention.

Rookie outside hitter Alleiah Malaluan posted a career-high 23 points on 19 attacks and four kill blocks, along with 11 excellent digs and 26 excellent receptions, while Davison added 22 points and 14 excellent receptions.

Kianna Dy scored 16 points in a losing effort. Kim Fajardo dished out 26 excellent sets, while Kath Arado recorded 28 excellent digs for the High Speed Hitters.

PLDT will look to bounce back against Farm Fresh, also on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

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In just her second game back from a minor knee injury, Jema Galanza made her presence felt in a big way—powering Creamline to a cardiac five-set victory over PLDT to open its 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinals campaign on Saturday.

Galanza, who returned from a three-game absence but was held scoreless in limited minutes during their play-in win over Akari last Tuesday, teamed up with Bernadeth Pons to steer the Cool Smashers to a 22-25, 27-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-10 comeback win against the High Speed Hitters at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The former league MVP finished with 17 points while also providing the energy and spark that fueled the emphatic victory, pushing Creamline closer to a return trip to the best-of-three Finals.

“Sobrang, sobrang happy, syempre. And, yun nga, sabi nga ni [Bernadeth] Pons, nakaka-boost ng morale,” said Galanza.

“And, alam mo ’yon, after ng game na ’to, ang iisipin lang namin ay makarecover. And, mag-double time kami dun sa mga nararamdaman namin para all throughout Semis to Finals, talagang all out kami.”

(C) PVL Images

Coming off the bench in the first two sets before starting the rest of the way, the 29-year-old outside hitter said she stayed focused on giving the Cool Smashers much-needed points and stability on offense.

She added that her strong performance came after head coach Sherwin Meneses reminded her to play freely and without pressure, allowing her to settle into her rhythm and make an impact.

“Siyempre, makapagbigay ng points, manalo, and walang injuries. Kasi mga gano’ng games talagang hindi mo masasabi. Sobrang grabe yung pressure, mataas yung pressure. So, lagi lang akong ni-re-remind ni coach na gumalaw ako nang walang pressure para iwas tayo sa injuries. So, yun lang yung finocus ko buong game,” said Galanza.

“Siguro, nag-trust kami nang sobra sa isa’t isa. And, kung meron man kaming pagkakamali o hindi namin napuntos, well, yun nga yung sabi din ni Coach na kung di kami makapuntos or may error, bumawi lang agad. So, I think yun yung nangyari, fourth set to fifth set. Kaya, nakuha namin yung set.”

Galanza, however, knows they will need to sustain that composure moving forward, especially with Cignal up next—a familiar foe they have already taken to five sets twice, splitting wins in both the preliminaries and qualifying round.

“So, pangatlong beses na namin sila makakalaban ngayon. I think, alam na alam na namin at alam na nila kung ano ang ilalaro namin. So, mahaba-habang laro ulit to sa Cignal,” said Galanza.

“And, buti na work out namin yung composure namin itong PLDT. Kasi, sobrang importante siya sa magiging game namin sa Cignal.”

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