Petro Gazz rediscovered its spark at the most critical moment, pulling away in the decider to deny Creamline’s reverse sweep bid, 25-17, 25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 15-10, and move one win away from the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference championship on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was MJ Phillips who powered the Angels’ resurgence, stepping up just when the team needed her most after being stunned by Creamline’s relentless fightback in the third and fourth sets.
The 6-foot middle blocker delivered five of her points during Petro Gazz’s strong 10-4 start in the fifth set, providing a comfortable cushion that proved too much for the Cool Smashers to overcome.
Creamline, drawing from its trademark composure built on 10 championships, made one final push from 8-13 down, scoring two straight points off a Michele Gumabao hit and a Bea de Leon block on Brooke Van Sickle to close the gap to 10-13.
But the Angels were determined to seize the all-important series opener. An attack error by Bernadeth Pons brought Petro Gazz to match point, and Aiza Pontillas sealed the win by rejecting Pons at the net after a grueling two-hour and 38-minute duel.
(C) PVL Images
“Honestly, my teammates — I just kept looking them in the eye, and I was just like, ‘You guys got me, I got you,’ the whole entire time. It’s 15 points, but I took every point like it was my last. So, I mean, my team has my back, and that’s why I was able to do what I had to do on the court. Props to the team,” said Phillips, who tallied six of her 16 points in the final set.
Facing immense pressure, Creamline turned to its bench and found a spark in Jema Galanza, who helped them force a fifth set. Still, despite the meltdown in the previous frames, the Angels’ confidence never wavered.
Van Sickle rose to the occasion in her Finals debut, scoring a game-high 24 points off 21 attacks, two blocks, and an ace, while also contributing 14 excellent digs.
“Creamline is not the team that they’re just going to roll over and give up. So they definitely came out fighting big time in the third and basically like punched us. And we kind of like, ‘Oh, what’s happening?’ But so it took us a little bit to get back on track and get their energy going again,” said the 2024 AFC MVP.
Jonah Sabete added 16 points for Petro Gazz, while Myla Pablo chipped in 12.
The Angels will aim to complete the job in Game 2 on Thursday at 6:30 PM at the Big Dome, while the Cool Smashers will fight to keep their championship hopes alive.
Petro Gazz is chasing its third PVL crown and its first All-Filipino title. The Angels previously won twice in the Reinforced Conference, with their last championship coming in 2022.
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Pons led Creamline with 16 points but struggled offensively, converting just 14 of 56 spike attempts. She made up for it on defense with 20 excellent digs and 13 receptions.
Pangs Panaga contributed 13 points, including 10 attacks, while De Leon added 11, six of which came from blocks. Galanza also finished with 10 points in the loss that put Creamline on the verge of seeing its four-peat dream end.
#WATCH: Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, Jonah Sabete, and Coach Koji Tsuzurabara react to Petro Gazz’s epic Game 1 win—just one step away from making franchise history with their first-ever PVL All-Filipino crown 🏐
📹 @jonashdcd /Tiebreaker Times#PVL2025 pic.twitter.com/FSrsVvbFhF
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 8, 2025
