By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Petro Gazz Angels wrapped up its Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League tournament with a title after blanking the Cignal HD Spikers, 25-19, 27-25, 25-22, last February 10, 2024, held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Despite dropping two matches during the preliminary phase, Petro Gazz picked up its chemistry in the most perfect time to hand the HD Spikers its lone defeat in the PNVF league.
Brooke Van Sickle became the catalyst in the championship duel as the star outside hitter led Petro Gazz with 20 points built from 18 successful attacks.
Aside from her offensive prowess, Van Sickle also contributed two crucial blocks which helped her bag the tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Petro Gazz quickly gained the much-needed momentum after jamming Cignal with their varied offensive sets.
From their crisp 1-2 quick plays, Petro Gazz also deployed several combination plays from the back row that caught Cignal off guard.
The HD Spikers had the chance to equalize the game at 1-1 after leveling Petro Gazz’s intensity but the Angels answered back with three straight points to take the nip-and-tuck second set.
Cignal fought with their all in the third and final set but Van Sickle put Petro Gazz on her back and exploded with five quick points midway through the frame.
Despite Cignal shifting its game plan by slowing the game down while putting more emphasis on their floor coverage defense, Petro Gazz just proved to be too much after pulling off a hitting clinic in the final 10 minutes of the championship match.
