Stars may rise and fall, but the ‘Phenom’ stays right where she belongs.
Alyssa Valdez proved there is still no bigger name to carry the biggest games when the stakes are at their highest.
The Creamline captain delivered a vintage triple-double of 22 points, 13 digs, and 13 receptions to power the Cool Smashers past Cignal, 25-19, 25-20, 15-25, 26-28, 16-14, at the close of the preliminaries on Saturday and into the qualifying round of the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.
At 32, Valdez did more than just show flashes of her prime. She dictated the most decisive game of Creamline’s campaign yet with a performance that mirrored the career she has built, rising when the moment calls for it.
That timely showing earned the Cool Smashers stalwart her first PVL Press Corps Player of the Week presented by Pilipinas Live in the league’s professional era.
She edged Farm Fresh’s Royse Tubino in a close voting contest as well as another Foxy in Trisha Tubu, Akari’s Eli Soyud, Nxled’s Brooke Van Sickle, and Choco Mucho’s Sisi Rondina for the citation for March 17 to 21, awarded by print and online reporters covering the pioneering professional volleyball league organized by Sports Vision.
Even earlier in the week, the signs of a brewing storm were already there.
In Creamline’s 16-25, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25 loss to Farm Fresh in Sta. Rosa, played without head coach Sherwin Meneses and fellow stars Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons, Valdez still produced 14 points and 11 digs in just her second start of the conference.
For the three-time PVL MVP, that gradual resurgence has never been about reclaiming the spotlight. It was about reinforcing belief.
“I think every game, it’s more of a reminder for myself and for the team that we’re still here,” Valdez said.
“If there’s something to motivate myself, ang hirap din kasi to actually just think of other people. So ngayon, parang ako, iniisip ko talaga na it’s a reminder na kaya pa and I’ll just do my part in practice and kapag kailangan, tutulong tayo.”
With a qualifying-round rematch against the Super Spikers set, the spotlight grows brighter with an outright semifinals berth on the line.
And if history is any indication, that is exactly where Valdez and the Cool Smashers thrive.
“It’s not more on trying to prove anything but siguro mas more on trying to stick together and making sure sa sarili ko and sa team na magkakasama kami hanggang dulo,” she said.
“We stick together, we go to this battle together. Lalaban kami hanggang kung saan aabutin.”
Creamline and Cignal meet again on Thursday, March 26, in the qualifying round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the match streamed live and on demand via the Pilipinas Live app and on www.pvl.ph.
