By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Petro Gazz Angels completed the cast of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference semifinal qualifiers after wrapping up their business against the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles on March 25, 2025, at the Philsports Arena.
Petro Gazz saved their best for last and pulled off a clean sweep over ZUS Coffee, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23, during the do-or-die Game 3 of the quarterfinals.
With the dominant win, the Angels bounced back from a 0-1 series deficit, raking the next two games to enter the round-robin semifinal stage.
Petro Gazz sustained their momentum from their 3-0 win in Game 2 and replicated their execution to complete the reverse sweep and avoid a stunning upset.
Former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Brooke Van Sickle was in beast mode after top-scoring the game with 24 big points built from 21 successful attacks.
After a quiet Game 1 outing, the superstar outside hitter maintained her waxing hot offense from Game 2 that steered Petro Gazz to a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Petro Gazz fed Van Sickle who was efficient with her cross-court spikes while also piling up her off-speed hits when she rotated to the backline.
ZUS Coffee tried to tweak Petro Gazz’s offense by targeting the opposition’s weak side in hopes of a distorted set play but Van Sickle was always in the middle and was ready to turn garbage into gold.
MJ Phillips, Petro Gazz’s ever-reliable middle blocker, chipped in on the offensive department and backstopped Van Sickle with 10 markers.
The defensive specialist paid off the trust of her setter after pummeling ZUS Coffee with several 1-2 quick attack connections in the middle, fortified by four excellent digs midway through the second.
With Van Sickle and Phillips clicking from all cylinders, the young ZUS Coffee failed to snatch away the momentum and relied on Petro Gazz’s unforced errors to generate their offense.
“Today’s game was an excellent game. ZUS is a strong team so from this, we would take one step higher, we would improve for the semifinals,” said Angels head coach Koji Tsuzurabara after the series comeback win.
The Angels will have a much-deserved break before kicking off their semifinal campaign on March 29, 2025, against Alyssa Valdez and the Creamline Cool Smashers.
Meanwhile, the Akari Chargers and the Choco Mucho Flying Titans will square off in the first game of the scheduled doubleheader at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
