Petro Gazz middle blocker MJ Phillips. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA, Philippines – Petro Gazz middle blocker MJ Phillips shared Tuesday the mentality she embraced just when Creamline was trying to claw its way back in Game 1 of the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.
Down two sets to nothing, the Cool Smashers were able to equalize the match, forcing a rubber set.
But in the final frame, Phillips showed what she's capable of.
She spearheaded a dominant Petro Gazz showing in the fifth set, nailing the first three points en route to a six-point total — enough to cover more than one-third of the Angels' needed 15-point output in the final frame to silence the Cool Smashers and their fans.
Phillips said she played like "every point like it was my last," although her team paved the way for that excellent showing, knowing that the Angels got her back.
"Honestly, my teammates — I just kept looking them in the eye, and I was just like, 'You guys got me, I got you,' the whole entire time," said the middle blocker.
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"It’s 15 points, but I took every point like it was my last. My team has my back, and that’s why I was able to do what I had to do on the court," Phillips added.
The Cool Smashers have gotten the better of the Angels in their previous encounters in the PVL Finals, and Phillips said they are determined to use that as fuel to finally close out the series on Thursday.
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"We’re not gonna have that repeat [of] the past," she said.
"Like I said, one game at a time, one point at a time, we’re gonna try our best to not have that third set like how we lacked energy and stuff," she added. "We’re just gonna come right off the bat and finish it."