ANTIPOLO – Petro Gazz shocked defending champion Creamline in four sets, 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16 for a piece of the early lead in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference round-robin semifinals, Saturday at the Ynares Center here.
Following narrow victories in the first two sets, the Angels overcame a third-set setback — pulling away early in the fourth to put the Cool Smashers away for good and join Akari as early semifinal leaders with identical 1-0 records.
Petro Gazz stormed to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set, keeping Creamline at bay until the latter stages. Brooke Van Sickle, Ranya Musa, and MJ Phillips then combined for a decisive 5-0 run, stretching a 19-15 lead to a commanding 24-15 advantage.
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Bea De Leon momentarily stopped the Angels’ surge with a quick attack, but a costly service error immediately after sealed Creamline’s fate, handing them their second loss of the conference — once again at the same venue.
“Before, in our previous match, we lost to Creamline. This same venue, this same uniform. So we are doing (everything) we need to do to win the game. Creamline is too strong,” said Petro Gazz head coach Koji Tsuzurabara, recalling their 3-0 loss to the same squad in the preliminaries.
Van Sickle registered 26 points on 22 attacks, three aces, and one kill block to go along with six excellent digs to spearhead the Angels’ impressive start in the round-robin semis.
Jonah Sabete fired 19 points on 14 attacks and five kill blocks on top of six excellent receptions, while Myla Pablo had 11 points. Petro Gazz drew crucial contributions from its middle blockers as well, with Phillips and Musa chipping in nine and seven points, respectively
Chie Saet continued her stellar performance with 23 excellent sets, while the libero duo of Jellie Tempiatura and Baby Love Barbon recorded 11 and nine excellent digs, respectively.
Petro Gazz looks to sustain its momentum against Choco Mucho on Tuesday, 6:30 PM at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
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On the other hand, the top-ranked Cool Smashers are now in a must-win situation, as falling into a 0-2 hole could jeopardize their chances of securing a five-peat.
Bernadeth Pons posted 14 points on 12 attacks, an ace, and a block to lead Creamline, while Tots Carlos had 13 points in the loss.
Team captain Alyssa Valdez registered a triple-double of 10 points, 10 excellent digs, and 10 excellent receptions, while Jema Galanza was held to just nine points.
The Cool Smashers aim to bounce back at the expense of the Chargers also on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.
