Emotional was Chie Saet after Petro Gazz completed its huge reverse sweep of Cignal in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference semifinals on Monday night.
“Siyempre thankful kasi lahat naman gustong manalo,” said Saet, who already broke into tears prior to the post-match interview.
“Siguro this time, mas pursigido talaga kaming makuha.”
The semifinals have been a roller coaster ride for Saet and the Angels.
Facing an unbeaten Cignal squad, Petro Gazz surprisingly lost in three sets in Game One which put the squad in danger of missing the finals for the second-straight time after making back-to-back appearances in 2019.
The Angels then fired back in style in Game Two, surviving a hard-fought, five-set affair on Sunday to keep its finals hopes alive.
Then, in less than 24 hours, Petro Gazz hit the court anew against Cignal for the last ticket to the playoffs. Armed with the momentum from yesterday’s affair, the Angels accomplished what seemed to be an impossible mission from the start.
On Monday night, Petro Gazz defeated Cignal, 25-21, 28-26, 15-25, 25-21, for the second consecutive day to set up a finals match up against another unbeaten squad in Creamline.
“Ayun nga kagaya ng mga past interviews, masasabi ko lang talaga mas uhaw kaming manalo though wala naman kaming dapat patunayan.
“It’s just that mas desidido kami, meron kami talagang gustong makuha, yung makuha namin yung championship,” added Saet.
The 37-year-old playmaker tossed 36 excellent sets along with four points to help Petro Gazz in its Game Three triumph.
More importantly, Saet steadied the Angels’ ship after the HD Spikers switched things up in the third frame and took a dominant 25-15 win to send the match to a fourth set.
“Stay calm [ang sinabi ko] kasi kanina, medyo nag uumpisa na naman kaming mataranta, marattle, kasi nag bago sila ng target sa service which is nag short ball sila so medyo nag shake yung pass namin siguro kaya rin nakuha nila yung third set,” said the former La Salle standout.
“Nag-recover lang kami, sinabi ko lang na back to zero, reset so ayun hanggang sa naka-recover naman lahat,” she added.
A confident Petro Gazz emerged in the fourth set, halting every run that Cignal mounted before Grethcel Soltones and Myla Pablo ended the game by converting the last two points.
Angels head coach Jerry Yee stressed the importance of having Saet, a battle-tested playmamer and leader, in a team full of talented hitters.
“Very, very important yung role ni Chie sa amin so bukod sa veteran, siya nagpapatakbo ng plays, siya nagpapagana ng napakaraming spikers namin. So of course, very important,” expressed Yee.
Petro Gazz’s Game One encounter with Creamline will be on Wednesday, 6:00 PM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
