Petro Gazz kept its finals bid alive, eliminating Chery Tiggo from finals contention after three quick sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-13 in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Lindsey Vander Weide was at the forefront of the Angels’ dominant outing, pouring 18 points on 14 attacks and four aces while Myla Pablo provided her ample help with 15 points on 11 attacks and four kill blocks.
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas added 11 markers built on five huge aces while MJ Phillips registered four kill blocks to end up with eight points.
“Siguro syempre nung first game kailangan mag-give credit kasi Creamline pa rin yun e, established naman na yung team nila and champion din lalo na sa all-Filipino,” said Petro Gazz head coach Rald Ricafort, recalling their straight sets loss to Creamline last Thursday.
“Siguro yung today lang mas nag-focus kami sa task at hand na ito talaga yung game na mas kailangan namin. Kailangan namin lahat ng panalo pero nawala yung pressure na kailangan dapat makuha. Nag-laro lang ulit kami nang nageenjoy sila and mas naging clear lang yung trabaho, yung individual roles nila so buti nakuha ng straight sets,” he added.
The Angels flat-out dominated the Crossovers, scoring 12 kill blocks and 10 service aces in one hour and 20 minutes of action compared to the latter’s four and two, respectively.
Petro Gazz led by as much as 13 points in the third set, 22-9, after three consecutive points from Vander Weide. Chery Tiggo went on a four-to-nothing run to cut the lead to nine before Marian Buitre and Seth Rodriguez ended the game.
For Petro Gazz to enter the finals, they must defeat Cignal in at least four sets and hope that the Crossovers gets a win over Creamline. Any other results will be settled by the points system.
Mylene Paat was the lone double-digit scorer for the Crossovers with 10 points while Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Cza Carandang added eight and seven markers, respectively.
Petro Gazz will face Cignal on Tuesday, 2:30 PM at the Philsports Arena while Chery Tiggo will end its campaign against Creamline later that day at 5:30 PM.