Petro Gazz clinched the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League title, handing Cignal its only loss in the tournament with a score of 25-19, 27-25, 25-22 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night.
Brooke Van Sickle, who was named Tournament MVP, dropped 20 points on 18 attacks and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Best Open Hitter Jonah Sabete backstopped the Fil-American spiker with 18 points on 18 attacks for the Angels.
“Thank you so much. Now, my players understand my volleyball a little bit. We still need all-around practice but this time, they gave me the best performance,” said Petro Gazz head coach Koji Tsuzubara.
“I just told them before the game, you are the challengers. My team was the challenger,” added the Japanese tactician.
After breezing past the first set, the Angels figured in a tight encounter against the HD Spikers in the third, with the latter crawling back from a 12-18 deficit to eventually send the set to an extension.
Fortunately for Petro Gazz, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas scored off the block to break a 25-all match point.
Then Remy Palma unleashed a running attack to give her side a commanding 2-0 lead.
It was all the Angels from there with Van Sickle nailing down the championship-clinching attack to give Petro Gazz its first title since 2022.
On the other hand, the erstwhile unbeaten HD Spikers were led by Ces Molina with 13 points. Chai Troncoso and Chin Basas added seven and six markers, respectively.
The Angels finished the preliminaries with a 2-2 card before scoring a masterful sweep of Chery Tiggo in the knockout semifinal. That pushed them to the title match against the unbeaten HD Spikers.
Meanwhile, the Crossovers bounced back, whipping College of St. Benilde in straight sets, 25-20, 25-13, 25-13, to secure a bronze finish in their maiden foray into the PNVF Champions League.
Mylene Paat showed the way with 11 points on eight hits and three blocks while team captain Aby Maraño and Galang chipped in 10 points apiece in the victory.
The Lady Blazers, on the other hand, were led by Best Opposite Spiker Gayle Pascual, who had seven points.
