ANTIPOLO – On her 27th birthday, Brooke Van Sickle gave herself the perfect gift — a commanding performance to keep Petro Gazz’s title hopes alive.
The high-flying, Filipino-American outside hitter led the Angels to a dominant 25-19, 25-13, 28-26 sweep of ZUS Coffee, forcing a do-or-die Game 3 in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Ynares Sports Center here.
The Angels came alive following a shocking 21-25, 23-25, 25-27 loss in Game 1 last Tuesday, with Van Sickle leading a balanced offensive attack to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
Reigning MVP Van Sickle, boosted by the presence of her parents, Gary and Lisa, delivered a game-high 17 points, converting 15 of her 34 attack attempts while also tallying eight excellent digs in the one-hour, 19-minute contest.
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“Yeah I’m just proud of the team. We came out flat last game, and I thought, this one, we had a goal just to have fun, and to come out energized, and I thought we did a really good job at that,” said Van Sickle.
The Thunderbelles, after lackluster showings in the first two sets, found their rhythm late in the third. Thea Gagate and Jovelyn Gonzaga ignited a 4-0 run, aided by a pair of Petro Gazz errors, to tie the game at 23-all.
Van Sickle pushed the Angels to match point with a cross-court kill, but AA Adolfo committed a crucial service error before a rotational fault put ZUS Coffee at set point at 25-24.
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, however, kept Petro Gazz alive with a well-placed push, followed by a powerful attack from the returning Jonah Sabete, who sliced through the Thunderbelles’ formidable block to give her team a 26-25 edge.
Gonzaga responded with a cross-court hit to force another deadlock, but Van Sickle fired down the line to bring the Angels to match point once more. Moments later, Cloanne Mondoñedo was whistled for an overreach, sealing ZUS Coffee’s gallant stand.
“It’s gonna be a battle next game and like Coach Koji said, the game is done now, and we have to focus on the next game, so I thought everyone had a really good performance, and I’m happy we were able to turn it around. But yeah, ZUS will keep fighting so we gotta be ready,” added Van Sickle.
Sabete, in her first game back following a two-month absence due to a minor injury, scored 11 points, while MJ Phillips and Myla Pablo also came up with 11 apiece to round out the double-digit performers for Petro Gazz.
Veteran playmaker Chie Saet, who took over the starting setter role from Djanel Cheng, tossed 18 excellent sets to go along with three points. Meanwhile, Jellie Tempiatura and Baby Love Barbon registered eight excellent receptions and seven excellent digs, respectively.
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On the other hand, the Thunderbelles went crashing down following a stellar Game 1 win.
Chinnie Arroyo was the lone double-digit scorer for ZUS Coffee with 10 points, while Gagate and Chai Troncoso each contributed eight markers. Mondoñedo dished out 15 excellent sets in the loss.
Game 3 of the best-of-three quarterfinals series will be on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
