In the rematch of the Reinforced Conference finals, Petro Gazz sent Cignal crashing, scoring its second consecutive win, 28-26, 25-18, 25-13 in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, Saturday at the Philsports Arena.
Remy Palma fired 15 points on 10 attacks, four blocks, and one ace. Meanwhile, Grethcel Soltones provided 14 points built on 13 attacks.
The Angels have upgraded their win-loss standing to 2-1.
Djanel Cheng tossed 19 excellent sets, while Cienne Cruz and Jellie Tempiatura had 14 excellent receptions and 11 excellent digs, respectively. The trio helped the Angels sustain their momentum after their win over Choco Mucho last week.
“Well, morale booster para sa amin kasi sabi ko, big teams yung mauuna namin eh. ‘Di ba nag-simula sa Creamline, Choco Mucho, tapos Cignal? So big teams,” said Petro Gazz head coach Oliver Almadro.
“So sabi ko sa kanila, we have to get one game at a time. And what I said to them is they [already] did it before, they can do it again. Kasi ‘di ba kalaban nila sa finals Cignal, so it’s them. Kumbaga ako taga-motivate lang ako at saka taga-guide,” he added.
Cignal and Petro Gazz figured in a tight encounter in the first set with the latter reaching set point first, 24-21, after an off-the-block hit coming from Aiza Maizo-Pontillas.
The HD Spikers managed to come back with Ces Molina, Chai Troncoso, and Rachel Daquis scoring on consecutive attempts. That locked the scores at 24-all, which eventually turned to another deadlock at 26.
Soltones gave the Angels a one-point lead after a crosscourt hit. Then came a 1-2 attempt by Gel Cayuna sailed out which gave Petro Gazz the first set.
From there, the Angels went on to take the next two sets without much resistance from the side of the HD Spikers – who have now lost their four consecutive games to the reigning Reinforced Conference champion.
Molina led the struggling Cignal with 11 points along with eight excellent receptions while Rachel Daquis had nine markers.
Petro Gazz will face PLDT on Thursday at 6:30 PM (Filoil EcoOil Centre) while Cignal will take on F2 Logistics next Saturday also at 6:30 PM (Philsports Arena)
