The Petro Gazz Angels. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA — Petro Gazz dealt rival Creamline's worst-ever tournament finish in franchise history to make it to the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference semifinals on Monday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Angels came up with a 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 25-14 triumph in the knockout quarterfinals to dethrone the reigning Reinforced titlists, marking the Cool Smashers' first time missing out on a podium result.
The Angels rewrote the script, avenging their quarterfinals exit in last year's edition of the import-laced tourney, which came at the hands of the eventual defending champions, the Cool Smashers.
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They lost the services of import Lindsey Vander Weide in the match early on, as the Petro Gazz reinforcement suffered an ankle sprain after landing on Ranya Musa's foot on a block attempt.
But the Petro Gazz crew never wavered, as the ever-spectacular Brooke Van Sickle and vintage Myla Pablo rose to the occasion. Pablo's personal three-point run late in Set 2 helped the Angels install a 2-0 lead.
Vander Weide came back to the game in Set 4, just in time to back up the Angels after losing Set 3. The Van Sickle-led squad unleashed a 9-1 run from a 7-6 Creamline lead to dictate the tone of the rest of the match.