PetroGazz lost its momentum but recovered big-time to repulse PacificTown-Army, 25-15, 20-25, 14-25, 25-13, 15-7, and close in on the second semifinal berth in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the packed University of San Agustin gym in Iloilo yesterday.
Cai Baloaloa fired back-to-back aces midway in the decider to stop the Lady Troopers’ rally then Cherry Nunag came through with two quick hits to put the Angels beyond reach on their way to their eighth straight victory and ninth overall against two defeats.
The loss dropped the Lady Troopers to 6-6, further tightening the race for the last two berths in post-season play of the centerpiece conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
PetroGazz’s victory likewise paved the way for Creamline, unbeaten in 11 games, to secure the first semis seat even in the event the Cool Smashers dropped their last five matches, including against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans being played at presstime.
PacificTown-Army fought back strong from a first set setback by taking the next two frames in emphatic fashions but failed to finish off PetroGazz in the fourth that saw the Angels put their act together and dominate with their superb attacking game and blocking.
PetroGazz took five of the first six points in the decider and when the Lady Troopers countered with three straight hits to pull within one, the Angels went to Nunag, who scored on an easy hit on Army’s poor return then Baloaloa pounced on their rivals’ sloppy service reception to score two aces.
After the two teams switched courts, Royse Tubino broke the Lady Troopers’ spell with a cross-court hit but Nunag knocked down another hit and Jovielyn Prado added one after the Angels scrambled to keep the ball in play as the Reinforced Conference champions raced to a 12-5 bulge aided by Tubino’s long attack.
Nunag, doing what she does best, then came through with two straight hits on quick plays before Relea Saet closed out the match on a 1-2 play that caught the Lady Troopers by surprise.
Meanwhile, league action shifts back to San Juan today (Sunday) as BanKo-Perlas and Air Force try to boost their respective semifinal drives against ousted Chef’s Classics and BaliPure, respectively.
The Perlas Spikers shoot for a follow-up to their straight-set romp over the Motolite side last Sept. 28 against the winless Red Spikers at 4 p.m., looking for their eighth victory against five defeats and stay in the Top 4 heading to the crucial phase of the double-round elims of the league backed by Mikasa, Asics and KFC.
The Jet Spikers, on the other, seek to rebound from a shutout loss to the powerhouse Cool Smashers last week that snapped their five-game run, facing the Water Defenders at 2 p.m.
Like Chef’s Classics (0-14), Balipure is out of the race with a 3-10 card although the two teams are expected to go all out to play the spoilers’ role by coming through with a pair of reversals.
Games today (Filoil Flying V Center, San Juan)
2 p.m. – Air Force vs BaliPure
4 p.m. – Chef’s Classics vs BanKo-Perlas