Petro Gazz’s journey to the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference crown was anything but smooth.
But no subplot captured the volatility of the Angels’ campaign more vividly than Myla Pablo’s own turbulent season — a journey that mirrored the team’s rise, dip, and eventual surge toward the top.
For Pablo, the conference began with more questions than answers.
She moved in and out of the wing rotation — already occupied by now-three-time MVP Brooke Van Sickle and American import Lindsey Vander Weide — forcing her to adjust roles and sometimes slide to the opposite.
The former league MVP made the most of the minutes she earned, averaging 10 points per game in her four starts during the eliminations. Yet there were nights when she could only watch long stretches unfold from the bench.
And when Petro Gazz seemed to find their stride — a two-game win streak over Capital1 and PLDT to close the eliminations, earning the fifth seed — Pablo was hardly part of the story.
She appeared briefly as a first-set substitute against the Solar Spikers, then rode the bench for the rest of the match, and never checked in during the high-stakes elimination victory over the High Speed Hitters.
Those wins, seen as the spark the Angels desperately needed, unfolded with Pablo on the periphery. By all indications, she seemed destined to enter the playoffs with little more than spot-duty expectations.
But the tournament had one final twist in store.
Petro Gazz’s quarterfinal clash with defending champion Creamline was daunting on paper. Then, in a cruel turn, Vander Weide suffered a right ankle injury — an abrupt blow that threatened to leave the Angels stranded.
That injury opened a door, and Pablo burst through it, delivering a performance reminiscent of the explosive form that once made her one of the league’s most feared scorers.
Summoned into action with their title bid at stake, she responded with a vintage 26-point, 7-dig, 7-reception outing, reminding everyone of the firepower that cemented her status as one of the league’s elite.
That game secured her place in the rotation for the rest of the postseason, and she delivered consistently.
Fourteen points in the semifinals. Fourteen more in the finals. Contributions that may not have grabbed headlines on paper but were undeniably crucial in steadying a team that had been searching for balance all conference long.
“Ang dami ding struggles ng team namin, ang daming changes na nangyari, pero mas nangibabaw pa rin yung tiwala ng bawat isa,” the 32-year-old winger said after their win over ZUS Coffee in the PVL Reinforced Conference finale.
“And you can see naman na hindi namin inexpect na makakapasok kami ng semis and makakapag-Finals din. Pero nandoon pa rin talaga yung respect ng bawat isa and yung tiwala din ng teammates namin and coaches namin na niri-remind kami sa loob ng court,” she added.
Then came the championship point.
Fittingly, it was Pablo who delivered it, a symbolic closing of a chapter that began in turbulence and ended in triumph.
“Nung binigay sa akin ni Jules (Tolentino) yung last point, sabi ko, kailangan patayin ko na ’to kasi siyempre yung tiwala ni Jules sa akin ay naibigay naman niya,” said Pablo.
In the end, Pablo was simply grateful — for the trust that revived her role, for the teammates who never let go, and for the chance to prove that even after a winding, uneven road, she could still steer her story toward a meaningful finish.
“Ako naman, kung ano yung binigay sa akin ng coaches sa loob ng court, ’yun yung ginagawan ko ng paraan — yung tiwala din sa akin ng mga coaches na ginawa akong opposite.”
