Petro Gazz showcased its revamped squad with an emphatic 25-11, 25-19, 25-19 victory over the Philippine Army to open the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Filipino-American sensation Brooke Van Sickle played as well as advertised, amassing 16 points with 14 hits, a block, and an ace in her Philippine debut as the Angels needed only 81 minutes to dispatch the Lady Troopers.
Petro Gazz, which also introduced new Japanese coach Koji Tsuzurabara to the local volleyball scene, faced little resistance in three straight sets for a quick 1-0 slate in the five-team tilt backed by PLDT, Ayala Land, Nuvali, Cignal, One Sports, One Sports+, Mikasa, Senoh, Foton, the Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Philippine Sports Commission.
The former US NCAA stalwart from the University of Hawaii, hailed as the MVP in the Big West Conference, received ample support from Nicole Tiamzon, returning Myla Pablo, and KC Galdones with nine, eight, and seven points, respectively.
“There were butterflies (in my stomach) before the game, but my teammates are super supportive, and I feel like we did very well,” said the 24-year-old ace, who arrived in the country only two weeks ago. “We’re developing chemistry as a team, slowly and surely. It was a good day for us.”
Except for a close third set where the Angels had to pull away from a slim 17-15 lead, they dominated the match, with all eight other players also contributing to the score.
Tsuzubara liked what he saw from his wards’ debut, crediting Brooke for spearheading the way despite the short training period of a little over a week since he took over from Timmy Sto. Tomas.
“Today is my first game, and I just told the players before the game to have fun together,” said the Japanese mentor. “Brooke is good. She also had her first game here, so she has to understand the atmosphere in Philippine volleyball.”
Up next for Petro Gazz is Cignal on Tuesday, which also bolstered its roster with the acquisition of Dawn Macandili and Jov Fernandez. Cignal was playing against Chery Tiggo, led by new captain Aby Maraño, as of press time in the second game of the PNVF Champions League opener.
Meanwhile, Nene Bautista was the only bright spot last year with 10 points for the Philippine Army in its volleyball return since skipping the PVL last year.
NCAA champion and PNVF Challenge Cup champion College of St. Benilde, which will debut Monday against the Philippine Army, is the other team in the women’s division of the tourney that will be aired live on One Sports and One Sports+ and livestreamed on Pilipinas Live and on a delayed basis on Cignal.
