Thanks to Bernadeth Pons’ consistently excellent play, Creamline maintains its perfect record after seven starts in the 2024–2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.

Pons continues to be a standout player for the defending champion Cool Smashers in a wing rotation full of quality thanks to her effective offensive play and strong floor defense.

Pons saved the day with a thrilling 25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9, escape on Saturday night at the Philsports Arena after Creamline surrendered a two-set lead against a fierce Cignal team.

Arena plus

The 2024 Reinforced Conference Most Valuable Player finished with 27 points off 24 kills, two aces, a block, and 14 outstanding digs, but she delivered the heaviest blows in the fifth set.

“In the fifth set, we didn’t think we were down two sets. It was like zero-zero. The fifth set was just great because it seemed like the team’s energy was back, because it was really lost in the third and fourth sets, it seemed a bit sluggish,” she said.

Pons was unanimously chosen as the PVL Press Corps Player of the Week, given by Pilipinas Live, for the January 28–February 1 period for her reliable performances that spared the ten-time PVL champions.

Last Tuesday’s 25-12, 25-21, 25-19 sweep of Nxled featured 13 points and 12 digs from the Reinforced Conference MVP, who had a strong week overall.

She defeated teammate Kyle Negrito, Savi Davison of PLDT, Jov Gonzaga of ZUS, Ivy Lacsina of Akari, and even eclipsed Trisha Tubu’s career-high of 33 points when Farm Fresh defeated Galeries Tower.

Creamline’s loaded roster, which pulls out the best in her every workout, is the reason behind her rise, according to the former Far Eastern University mainstay.

“Actually, I just want to be consistent, that’s my goal every day in training, [to improve] even just one percent every day,” Pons said.

“In training, I’m also really challenged, because everyone is so competitive. It’s hard to score, no one drops the ball. As a player, I’m also really challenged by my teammates, so it’s like, it’s such a big deal for me that when it comes to the game, I really don’t let it go.

Despite the absence of important players Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Jema Galanza, Pons was Creamline’s top scorer during the 2024 Reinforced Conference, helping to raise her club.

She led the Cool Smashers to another victory, won the highest individual award, and eventually finished the Invitationals’ historic grand slam, proving that her efforts were not in vain.

When Pons and the Roaring Pink team play Chery Tiggo (5-4) at the same location in Pasig City on Thursday, February 6, they want to record their eighth victory of the competition.