Amid the challenges thrown their way, Petro Gazz head coach Brian Esquibel couldn’t help but feel proud of the Angels for leaving it all on the court despite their early exit in the 2025 PVL On Tour.
The reigning All-Filipino Conference champions bowed out as early as the knockout round after a hard-fought 32-30, 25-22, 25-19 loss to Akari last Tuesday night at the Philsports Arena.
“Nakaka-proud kasi nakita mo naman na naglalaro sila nang maayos. Nandun ‘yung teamwork. Talaga lang hindi nag-favor sa’min ‘yung last game. Pero nakita mo naman, coming from three straight losses, ito kami ngayon,” said Esquibel.
“Trying pa rin ‘yung best ng team. Team effort and teamwork para ipakita sa volleyball fans na nandun pa rin ‘yung puso ng Petro Gazz na kampeon,” he added.
It was a challenging campaign for the Angels, who entered the tournament without star players Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips — the MVP and Finals MVP of their recent championship run — as both were fulfilling their duties with Alas Pilipinas.
The team also had to deal with the sudden departure of Japanese head coach Koji Tsuzurabara, who had helped steer Petro Gazz to its first All-Filipino crown, and the unfortunate ACL injury to starting libero Baby Love Barbon.
(C) PVL Images
“Siyempre, malaking lessons ‘to individually. Makikita mo na kahit wala ‘yung mga star player namin, nagpe-perform sila. ‘Yan ang importante,” said Esquibel, as veterans like Myla Pablo and Nicole Tiamzon, along with rookie Jules Tolentino, stepped up in the preseason tilt.
“Nakikita mo ng improvement pa rin. Although big challenge sa kanila ‘yung pagpapalit namin ng bagong coach, siyempre, nandun pa rin naman kami sa system ni Coach Koji, pero siyempre, kailangan namin bumawi pa rin.”
For Esquibel, the situation was also a major adjustment on a personal level. Stepping up from assistant to head coach in the middle of the campaign meant not only leading the team on short notice but also keeping them steady through a difficult stretch.
“Big adjustment from assistant coach to head coach. To lead this team is very challenging. Nandun yung pressure ng lahat, ng team owners, ng fans. Pero as interim coach, we will do our best to play the capability of our players and to play para maganda yung maipakita namin,” he said.
With their second-stringers gaining valuable experience and their stars set to return, Esquibel believes Petro Gazz will be a much more dangerous squad in the Reinforced Conference.
“Ibang Petro Gazz Angels na makikita natin kasi siyempre ang darating na conference is Reinforced. So meron pa tayong isa ulit na maaasahan bukod si Myla. Pero lahat kami magtatrabaho like Brooke, MJ and yung mga locals natin is kailangan tumulong,” said Esquibel.
“Hindi naman porket we have Myla, Brooke, MJ is okay na yung team. Kailangan pa rin mag-perform ng lahat ng libero, ng setters. Best team effort pa rin ang kailangan natin para manalo.”
