Second-seeded Petro Gazz handled business against 11th-ranked Capital1, securing a 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 straight-set victory to advance to the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals on Saturday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Angels, now riding a 10-match winning streak, faced stiff resistance from the upset-seeking Solar Spikers.
However, their experience and firepower proved decisive in the third set, where Brooke Van Sickle, Myla Pablo, and MJ Phillips led the team to a 16-10 lead and never looked back to complete the sweep after an hour and 29 minutes of play.
(C) PVL Images
“Today’s game is a good game. Two days ago, Cignal versus Galeries, Cignal lost. So (we’re) very worried. We had a meeting before the game, there’s no perfect players, there’s no perfect team,” said Petro Gazz head coach Koji Tsuzurabara, referring to Galeries Tower’s upset of Cignal last Thursday.
“You want to win, but the opponent also wants to win. Everyone did their best,” he added.
Van Sickle fired a game-high 19 points on 15 attacks, two kill blocks, and two aces to go along with 14 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs for the Angels, while Pablo tallied 17 points on 15 attacks, an ace, and a block.
Phillips provided support with 12 points, including five of the team’s nine kill blocks, while veteran opposite spiker Aiza Maizo-Pontillas chipped in nine markers on top of eight excellent receptions.
Djanel Cheng steered Petro Gazz’s well-oiled offense with 13 excellent sets.
Petro Gazz will await the winner of Pool A, which currently has Cignal and Capital1, in the play-in tournament.
On the other hand, Capital1 dropped to Pool A, where they will compete for one of the last two quarterfinals spots.
(C) PVL Images
No. 3 overall pick Leila Cruz posted a team-high 16 points, 15 of which came from attacks, while team captain Jorelle Singh registered 10 points along with five excellent digs and seven excellent receptions.
Des Clemente was held to just five markers, while Trisha Genesis only had four in the stinging loss.
Iris Tolenada was replaced by May Macatuno in the starting unit and only played in the last set.
