By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The Petro Gazz Angels pulled off a surprising 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16 victory against the Creamline Cool Smashers in the PVL 2nd All-Filipino Conference single-round robin semis at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Saturday night, March 29.
Negrense Jonah Sabete finished with 19 points, from 14 attacks and five blocks, to be named Player of the Game, as the Angels tied the Akari Power Chargers with a 1-0 win-loss slate.
“Actually, napaka-crucial this game kasi every game counts dito sa semifinals. So pinaghandaan talaga namin lalo na ‘yung sa katawan namin kung hanggang saan kami aabot,” Sabete said in a post-game interview.
“Sobrang happy namin [sa panalo na ito] kasi pinaghuhugutan namin ‘yung bawat isa para makaabot kami dito sa semis,” she said.
“Sobrang hype kami sa result na ito, pero hindi kami pwede magpakampante kasi lahat ng teams mataas ang kalibre,” she added.
After failing to close out the Cool Smashers in the third set, the Angels opened the fourth set with a 17-10 advantage, but Creamline responded with a run to cut the deficit to 14-18.
Petro Gazz then rode on the offense of Myla Pablo, Brooke Van Sickle, Ranya Musa, and MarJana Phillips to reach the match point at 24-15.
Creamline responded with a block from Bea de Leon, but she committed a service error to seal the match for the Angels.
The defending champion Cool Smashers slumped to a 0-1 card after the defeat, their first this conference.
Meanwhile, the Power Chargers battled back from the brink of defeat to stun the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14.
Negrense Christine Joy Soyud shone brightly with 34 points, built on 27 attacks and seven blocks, earning her the title of Player of the Game for the Power Chargers, who now lead the semifinals with a 1-0 record.
“I am extremely grateful to my teammates for their support in this match,” Soyud expressed after the game.
“We always rely on each other. When we make mistakes, we just look at one another and remind ourselves not to give up,” she added./ASC, WDJ