For four long weeks, Petro Gazz lorded over the 2019 PVL Reinforced Conference.
The Angels went on an undefeated streak for seven straight games, primarily behind their high-scoring duo of Janisa Johnson and Wilma Salas.
However, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And for the Angels, their erstwhile-unblemished record now stands at 7-1 following their four-set defeat to reigning champion Creamline, Saturday evening.
“I mean, losses happen,” the 5-foot-8 Johnson admitted.
“It sucks when it happens, but they’re part of the game.”
Despite their reputation for hardly dropping a set, the Angels only secured the one versus Creamline. While the set count sat at 1-3, all but the first set came down the wire.
And, as Petro Gazz head coach Arnold Laniog stressed, the game could’ve gone either way if not for the breaks of the game that heavily shifted in Creamline’s favor late in the fourth set.
“Yun nga, sa susunod na game, ang gusto kong mangyari sana na yung mga kaya namin kontrolin sana na sitwasyon ay nakokontrol [namin],” Laniog asserted.
“Yung kay Cienne [Cruz] din, puntos na namin eh. Asan yung focus natin? Alam mong outside na, magpapatama ka pa. Sa mga ganyang situations, medyo nawawala tayo doon sa loob,” he continued. “Tapos yung kay [Jeanette] Panaga, although nakahabol naman dahil sa service niya… What if kung naipasok mo lang yung last service na nag-out noong 24 tayo. Baka nakuha pa natin.”
Still, despite the heart-wrenching outcome, the last thing that Johnson wants is for her Angels to get disheartened following their first loss. Instead, she urges her team to use it as motivation to get better.
“I mean, of course it hits home when you have your first loss, but the season’s not over yet,” the American reinforcement continued. “So this is a push for us that we needed. So hopefully for the next games, that carries over.
“And hopefully with this game makes us realize that we can’t slack off… And you know, we can’t let our errors get the best of us.”
