Games Thursday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4 p.m. – Strong Group vs Farm Fresh
6 p.m. – Choco Mucho vs Creamline
In a showdown that promised to go down-to-the-wire, Petro Gazz instead triumphed in wire-to-wire fashion, overpowering Cignal with a near-impeccable display to essay a commanding 25-13, 25-18, 25-17 victory and solidify its semifinal bid in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Tuesday night.
The Angels’ performance against their fellow semifinal contenders was characterized by their consistency in hitting, complemented by superb blocking and hustle plays. Their seamless execution completely outclassed the HD Spikers, steering them to joint second with the Creamline Cool Smashers with 7-2 records.
Choco Mucho sets the pace with an 8-1 mark.
Cignal suffered its fourth defeat against five victories, further dampening the HD Spikers’ chances heading to the last five playdates of the grueling preliminaries of the season-opening conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Jonah Sabete and Brooke Van Sickle alternated on the firing end to dominate the HD Spikers, with the former finishing with 16 points and the latter logging 13 markers. They also drew solid support from Aiza Pontillas, Remy Palma and Kecelyn Galdones, who contributed nine, eight and seven points, respectively.
In contrast, Cignal’s offense sputtered from the start and the HD Spikers never recovered. Ces Molina and Vanie Gandler scored eight points apiece, while Jacqueline Acuna chipped in six markers and setter Gel Cayuna added five points.
Jovelyn Gonzaga, Riri Meneses and Roselyn Doria struggled with a combined 10-point output.
Despite facing two decisive set losses, Cignal did stage a comeback in the third set, briefly taking control and even securing a lead at the first technical timeout, 8-6, courtesy of a powerful spike from Gandler.
But the Angels quickly turned the tide, fueled by key plays from Chie Saet, who ignited their resurgence with consecutive aces, and eventually pulling ahead at 16-13 with a combination of well-executed hits from out-of-system plays, including an off-speed hit from Van Sickle and a right-hand shot from the lefty Pontillas.
The momentum swung firmly in Petro Gazz’s favor as Sabete, who also produced 12 excellent digs, unleashed a series of thundering blows, highlighting their closing 9-4 run.
“It’s all about consistency,” said playmaker Djanel Cheng, who orchestrated the team’s offense with 12 excellent sets in their one-hour, 31-minute romp.
Following a 10-day break after their hard-fought victory over Creamline, Cheng said the team utilized the time to recharge before resuming intense training sessions.
“We still have to work on our discipline and be more consistent if we aim to reach the finals,” said Cheng.
Petro Gazz lorded it over Cignal in all scoring skills, 42-31 (spikes), 9-3 (blocks) and 7-3 (aces). The Angels likewise scored 17 points off the HD Spikers’ unforced errors while conceding just 11.
With ousted Galeries Tower and Nxled as its last two opponents on April 20 and 27, respectively, Petro Gazz appears well-prepared for the post-elims phase, while Cignal seeks to revive its hopes against PLDT on April 20 and versus Capital1 on April 27.