Petro Gazz steadied itself when it mattered most — surviving Akari in five sets, 25-19, 25-17, 15-25, 22-25, 15-13, and avoiding a full-blown collapse to reclaim its spot in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference Finals on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was a return three years in the making for the Angels. They last reigned in the Reinforced Conference in 2022, saw the tournament scrapped in 2023, and then endured a quarterfinal exit in 2024 during their delayed title defense.
After clawing through a grueling elimination round, they are finally back where they once stood — riding the momentum of four straight wins as they set their sights on a third championship in the import-laden tournament.
“I mean, I think it goes to show it does not matter how we start, but what matters most is how we finish. In the beginning of the season, it was a little hard. This team… We showed grit, to dog it out from start to finish,” said Petro Gazz head coach Gary Van Sickle.
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In a duel that went down to the wire — a fifth set featuring 12 deadlocks and six lead changes — the Angels gained a pivotal edge when Lindsey Vander Weide delivered a thunderous kill. A costly service error from Fifi Sharma then turned a 12-all tie into a 14-12 advantage.
The Chargers grabbed a brief lifeline when Vander Weide’s serve went long, but it was short-lived. Grethcel Soltones’ overpowered attack handed the final point to Petro Gazz, sealing a grueling two-hour, 10-minute battle.
“Yeah, we started off good. The first two sets were pretty easy. The girls were confident, and we kind of lost our focus a little bit. And give credit to Akari, they came out battling. They knew they had to win all the next three sets to win, so we just dug deep,” said Gary.
“A couple of the girls were really exhausted, but they fought. It was tough. It came down to a couple of plays — it could have pretty much gone either way. Akari pushed us to the limit and we got a couple of breaks at the end,” he added.
Brooke Van Sickle led the way with a team-high 23 points on 20 attacks and three kill blocks, adding 18 excellent receptions and 13 digs. Vander Weide — who won the Reinforced Conference title and Best Import award with the same team in 2022 — contributed 16 points as she marked her return to the final of the import-spiced tourney.
Myla Pablo — the hero in the Angels’ quarterfinal win over Creamline — tallied 14 points and nine excellent receptions. Meanwhile, MJ Phillips added 10 attacks, two kill blocks, and two aces in the big-time victory.
Jules Tolentino dished out 27 excellent sets, and Bang Pineda recorded 27 excellent digs.
Petro Gazz will face the winner of the PLDT–ZUS Coffee quarterfinal in the gold medal match on Sunday at 5:00 PM, still at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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Akari, meanwhile, fell short of reaching its second consecutive Reinforced Conference Final, despite a valiant comeback attempt led by American reinforcement Annie Michem and Ced Domingo.
Michem fired a game-high 28 points, all from attacks, alongside 11 excellent receptions. Meanwhile, Domingo finished with 16 markers on 11 attacks, three kill blocks, and two aces in the loss that sent them to the bronze match.
Soltones contributed 12 points off the bench, with 18 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs. Team captain and libero Justine Jazareno tallied 23 excellent digs.
