ANTIPOLO – Petro Gazz continued to gain momentum ahead of the qualifying round, cruising past Galeries Tower, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22, in its penultimate match of the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference preliminaries on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
The Angels remain one of the hottest teams in the league, securing their eighth straight win to improve to 9-1.
They trail only unbeaten Creamline, which is eyeing its 10th consecutive victory later in the day.
Myla Pablo, a consistent force for Petro Gazz in the all-Filipino tournament, led the charge with a game-high 17 points. She tallied 13 attacks, three blocks, and one ace, along with eight excellent digs.
“Bago kasi mag-start ‘yung game namin, parang mindset talaga namin na mapanalo namin ‘yung game na ‘to. Pero siyempre, paghihirapan talaga namin para makuha ‘yung win, kudos din talaga sa Galeries na lumaban talaga sa amin,” said Pablo.
(C) PVL Images
Brooke Van Sickle and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas provided ample support, with Van Sickle contributing 15 points, including four kill blocks. Meanwhile, Maizo-Pontillas added 12 markers, all from attacks.
Setter Djanel Cheng orchestrated the offense with 12 excellent sets and chipped in two points.
Baby Love Barbon and Jellie Tempiatura shared libero duties, recording eight excellent receptions and eight excellent digs, respectively.
Petro Gazz dominated the first two sets before fending off a resilient Galeries squad in the third to seal the one-hour, 27-minute victory.
The Angels will look to close out the preliminary round with a nine-game winning streak when they face Nxled on Thursday at 6:30 PM at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
(C) PVL Images
Meanwhile, the Highrisers suffered their fifth consecutive loss, dropping to 1-9, tying Nxled and Capital1 at the bottom of the standings.
Jho Maraguinot was the lone double-digit scorer for Galeries, finishing with 12 points and 10 excellent receptions. Ysa Jimenez chipped in seven markers, while Roselle Baliton and France Ronquillo contributed six points apiece.
Galeries Tower will aim to break the three-way tie and improve its positioning for the qualifying round when it faces defending champion Creamline on Thursday at 4:00 PM.
