By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The Petro Gazz Angels secured the 2024 Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League crown after a 25-19, 27-25, 25-22 sweep of the Cignal HD Spikers in the finals at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night, February 10.
Saved in the back-and-forth second set, the Angels, led by Negrense Jonah Sabete and Brooke Van Sickle, showed their dominance in the knockout finale to cap the week-long tournament with a crown.
“Dun sa second set kami medyo nahirapan,” HD Spikers team captain Mary Remy Palma said.
“Nung naka-run ang Cignal, sinabihan lang kami na we need to stay composed and slow down sa mga ginagawa namin inside the court,” she said.
“Pero madami pa kaming dapat ayusin sa team namin. Kailangan naming maging consistent and makabisado ‘yung system ni coach Koji [Tsuzurabara]. Thankful kami sa PNVF experience namin, and sana madala namin ito sa PVL,” she added.
Van Sickle, who was later named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and 1st Best Outside Hitter, expressed her happiness at contributing to the Angels’ success even though it marked her first experience playing consecutive games in as many days.
“I never played three games in a row, and it is very exhausting,” Sickle said.
“Our hard work has paid off, and I have had so much fun. This is a super great experience,” she added.
Aside from Sickle, her Angels teammates Sabete and Palma were awarded the 2nd Best Outside Hitter and 2nd Best Middle Blocker, respectively.
The Angels finished the elimination round in third place with a 2-2 win-loss slate before pulling off stunners over the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the semifinals and against the HD Spikers in the finals.
Meanwhile, the Crossovers bounced back from their semifinals defeat with a 25-20, 25-13 and 25-13 domination over the College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers to capture the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo Crossovers’ Aby Maraño won the 1st Best Middle Blocker, Cignal HD Spikers’ Dawn Macandili-Catindig and Gel Cayuna were recognized with the Best Libero and Best Setter awards, respectively, while Gayle Pascual of the College of St. Benilde was named the Best Opposite Spiker of the tournament./ASC, WDJ