CREAMLINE looks to make it a crowded leaderboard in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference as the defending champions go up against an unpredictable Akari side at the Philsports Arena today.

Ced Domingo will face her former team for the first time as the Cool Smashers and the Chargers collide at 6 p.m.

Debutants Capital1 and Farm Fresh take the floor at 4 p.m., with both teams trying to break into the win column.

Domingo helped Creamline win four PVL championships during her five-year stint with the Cool Smashers highlighted by a Final MVP award in the 2022 Invitational Conference.

The former Far Eastern University standout parted ways with Creamline and was signed by Akari at the start of the year.

Coming off a championship with her Thailand club Nakhonratchasima QminC VC recently, Domingo hopes do well the Chargers, especially against the Cool Smashers.

“One thing that I’ve really learned coming home from Thailand is my maturity inside the game and as an individual. It’s those instances that shape you,” said the two-time PVL Best Middle Blocker.

Having came on board with Akari only last week, Domingo, scored two points in her debut in a 25-21, 18-25, 12-25, 18-25 loss to Cignal last Saturday, where she entered as a third set substitute.

The crowd favorites, chasing a third straight championship in the league’s centerpiece tournament, scraped past the Foxies last Saturday, overcoming a stinging defeat in a marathon first set duel before squeezing out a 34-36, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15 victory.

The Chargers’ off-season signee Grethcel Soltones is eager to improve on her 14-point performance against the HD Spikers but looks to receive solid support from Dindin Manabat, Faith Nisperos and Fifi Sharma.

A victory by Creamline would place them alongside PLDT, Chery Tiggo and Choco Mucho with a 2-0 record.

Whether the Cool Smashers will finally break in new acquisitions Bea de Leon and Dennise Lazaro-Revilla has remains to be seen, but coach Sherwin Meneses has a lot of weapons in disposal led by Tots Carlos.

Jeanette Panaga and Risa Sato, who took over the spot from Domingo, will be the Cool Smashers’ main options in the middle.

Farm Fresh, led by Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, Chinnie Arroyo and Rizza Cruz, has demonstrated its ability to compete with the league’s top club.

The Foxies though cannot be complacent against the Solar Spikers, who are still in a getting-to-know stage having only formed earlier this month.

Despite being shut out by the Crossovers in their debut, coach Roger Gorayeb expects an improved performance from veterans led Jannine Navarro.