Petro Gazz has been unstoppable in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference, and it’s not an exaggeration.
The Angels defeated all three teams – Galeries, Gerflor, and NXLED – in straight sets. On Thursday evening at the packed Santa Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna, Petro Gazz faced its toughest challenge to date against F2 Logistics and emerged victorious with scores of 25-22, 27-25, and 25-14.
This recent win elevated the Angels to a 4-0 record in the first conference under Timmy Sto. Tomas’ leadership as the head coach. Sto. Tomas attributed their success to thorough preparation and motivating the players for upcoming games, resulting in four consecutive victories, tying them with Creamline atop the 12-team league.
“Sigure it’s more of preparation lang and how to motivate the girls kasi grabe yung drive nila, sobrang saya nilang turuan kasi everyone’s very eager to learn, everyone’s very eager to win,” said Sto. Tomas.
“I think we’re on the same note on that na gusto naming manalo, gusto naming matuto kasi both ways yan eh, ako gusto ko rin matuto from them and sila on their end naman I’m very happy na gusto rin nila matuto sa mga tinuturo ko sa kanila.”
Petro Gazz faced a minor challenge in the second set when the Cargo Movers threatened to hand them their first set loss in the conference. However, they managed to secure a 27-25 victory, bringing them closer to a perfect sweep. Sto. Tomas’ reminders played a pivotal role in motivating the Angels to finish the game strongly, especially in the third set.
“Sinabi ko lang sa kanila na kailangan meron pa rin laging sense or urgency kasi we had a hard time nung second set,” he said.
“Alam naman natin yung F2 palaban talaga sila eh so hindi sila basta basta susuko so if we wanted to win, sabi ko sa kanila kailangan lang talaga sense of urgency at huwag natin hayaan lumaban pa yung F2.”
These words served as an extra boost for the players, including Ranya Musa, who was named Player of the Game with 11 points.
She shared, “Ang observation ko po sa third set ay yung pagtiwala lang sa sarili, yung confidence level umangat pa kasi third set parang gusto namin i-try yung best namin na hindi makadikit sa amin yung F2 kasi dikit nga po yung second set.”
The Angels will have just a day’s rest before facing the formidable Chery Tiggo on Saturday. For Sto. Tomas, it’s back to the drawing board to prepare, something they’ve done well to maintain their unbeaten record in four outings.
“Alam naman natin na very competitive din yung Chery Tiggo,” said the first-year head coach.
‘If you’re going to look at the paper, individually they have the material so kailangan namin aralin mabuti kung ano yung sistema nila at kung paano sila maglaro so we can replicate the win again on Saturday.”
