Jonah Sabete and Jovie Prado showed the way once again as Petro Gazz waylaid BanKo in straight sets, 25-22, 25-15, 25-20, to draw first blood in the 2019 PVL Open Conference best-of-three semifinals, Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
“Naunahan lang namin ‘yung BanKo, ‘yung momentum eh. On our side, maganda ‘yung laro, pero hindi naman sa mataas ‘yung expectations ko with my players. But alam ko kasi nakita ko na ‘yung kaya namin ipakita, but kanina medyo nag konting chill lang kasi na-demoralize na ‘yung kalaban,” Petro Gazz head coach Arnold Laniog.
Behind another solid performance from their prolific scoring duo, coupled with a strong team effort, the Angels flaunted their might right from the opening whistle. Building comfortable cushion, they never looked back and closed in on a Finals berth.
Sabete put up a team-high 12 points built on 10 attacks and a pair of blocks. She also scattered 16 excellent receptions and seven excellent digs, flirting with a triple-double performance.
Prado complimented her with 10 markers, hammering down 10 spikes and a couple of aces.
Middle blockers Cherry Nunag and Jeanette Panaga supplied eight points apiece, while Steph Mercado chimed in six markers.
Petro Gazz playmaker Chie Saet delivered the goods with 18 excellent sets. On the other hand, defensive specialist Cienne Cruz made her presence felt with 20 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
The Angels outclassed the Perlas Spikers on all fronts.
The former outgunned the latter with a 41-33 differential in attacks, while posting an 8-6 and 3-2 disparity in blocks and aces, respectively. Petro Gazz proved to be the more efficient team as well, surrendering 16 errors to BanKo’s 23.
Dzi Gervacio topped BanKo with 14 points to lead all scorers. Meanwhile, Kathy Bersola and Perlas Spiker skipper Nicole Tiamzon managed 10 and nine markers, respectively.
Game Two is slated on Sunday, October 27 at the same venue.
