Kurashiki Ablaze has something glorious to look back to in the Premier Volleyball League—and something bitter to put behind—when the Japanese squad makes its return to the country to seek a second Invitational Conference crown starting on Thursday.

The Ablaze took down powerhouse crowd-darling Creamline, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 15-13, in a title game to remember for the Japanese and one to forget for the Cool Smashers, who were denied in their first shot at a Grand Slam in that 2023 classic.

Kurashiki is one of two Japanese teams that will be seeing action in the short tournament, and they can come across the Cool Smashers once again and three other local sides as the Ablaze try to win this for the second time and improve on a third-place finish last year.

PLDT and Chery Tiggo, which will dispute the On Tour title on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, and Cignal are the other local teams in the fold, with Kobe Shinwa University finally making its much-delayed appearance on local soil after being denied by COVID-19 restrictions in 2022.

Creamline will open the tournament with a marquee clash against Cignal at 4 p.m. on opening day, with PLDT and Chery Tiggo to square off in the day’s main game at 6:30 p.m. at the Big Dome.

The Japanese squads will go head-to-head in a much-awaited showdown on Saturday (Aug. 23) at 4 p.m. at Philsports Arena, giving fans a preview of their elite level of play.

The Invitational Conference will be a single-round elimination, with the top two teams to advance to the one-game championship match set for Aug. 31 at Araneta Coliseum. A bronze medal match will precede the finals, ensuring fans get back-to-back high-octane action to close out the month.

Tamaru Asaka was the biggest gun for Kurashiki in its first two stints here, and her return should be a welcome one for the tournament.

Kurashiki finished third last year when the Cool Smashers finally completed their Triple Crown bid, and that is something that the Japanese side would love to erase and maybe get Creamline again for another shot at a title.