Angels stars (from left) Pineda State, Myla Pablo, Lindsey Vander Weide and MJ Philips celebrate
The last point. —PHOTOS OF AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Under the fire of an opponent who suddenly found a foothold, Djanel Cheng launched a pivotal point before Petro Gazz’s big guns prevailed in a fierce late-game kick to seal the 25th victory- 17, 22-25, 25-12, 25-22 against Cignal and took home the Reinforced Conference of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) crown on Tuesday night at PhilSports Arena.
“We are really happy; All of our sacrifices, from the players to the coach, are truly worth it,” said Angels coach Rald Ricafort.
It took Petro Gazz three years to defend the title they won in 2019—the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the tournament for two years—and this time, Lindsey Vander Weide doesn’t want to wait long to win it back. all.
“This is one of the hardest working teams I’ve ever been on, and I think we really showed it in our Finals,” said the American, who won the World Imports of the Year award. tournament, said. “I have never seen this focus up until this point, which is the most important thing. We pulled it out and won the championship.
“I’m ecstatic and I’m excited to be doing it with this team again,” she added.
Taking a two-set lead and with an 18-11 lead in the fourth round, the Angels looked ready to cruise to the championship.
But Ces Molina ignited the HD Spikers from behind the service line and with Tai Bierria spotting her offense, Cignal took down six points in a row to advance in the 18-17 round.
Petro Gazz imported Lindsey Vander Weide (left) shoots down Cignal’s Riri Meneses.
That’s when Cheng beat the Cignal defense with a quick drop to ease the pressure on the building. MJ Philips then made another key point to make it 20-17.
Bierria remained unfinished, helping HD Spikers to finish 20-19 before Vander Weide made three points around killing Bierria to score 23-20. Myla Pablo, named one of the tournament’s two best outsiders after the match, pushed Petro Gazz to the championship point before making the coup.
Cheng finished with a stellar 26 sets with six points for the Angels as she toyed with the HD Spikers’ defense.
“I’ve played for other teams but I always come back here,” Cheng said. “Here [team] is one of my happy places.”
Vander Weide led Petro Gazz with 19 points, while Pablo scored 17 points. Remy Palma also took the lead as she provided 5 of Petro Gazz’s 12 blocks to finish with 18 points, while MJ Phillips added 12 points.
In the first game, Alyssa Valdez left the match in the third set after injuring her knee but the all-Filipino Tots Carlos and Creamline Cool Smashers still won bronze after completing the Chery Tiggo Crossovers sweep, 25-15 , 25 -19, 23-25, 25-21.
The highest rated three-timer (MVP) smashed her right knee into the floor while doing a dig in the third set.
Cool Smashers squandered a 23-22 lead in that set as Jelena Cvijovic and tournament MVP Mylene Paat completed a Chery Tiggo counterattack to extend the game. request
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