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| Photo credit to the original owner |
With excellent digs, sharp crosscourt hits, and closing the net to Creamline offense, no wonder Petro Angels emerged supreme in the race to two extended finals of the All Filipino Championship games witnessed by 11,000 live crowds at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday, April 12.
Joy Dacoron, who did not play in game number one of the PVL finals, has played a significant game for the Angels in the finals match. Jema Galanza on the other hand stepped up for the Creamline in the absence of Alyssa Valdez at the court in the 1st set with the support of veteran Michelle Gumabao. Personally, I commend the six consecutive blocks of the Angels against the Creamline that made the matchup extra-exciting because the game tied at 15 a piece in the 1st set.
Photo credit to original owner
Meanwhile, to temper the adrenalin of Petro Gazz, Alyssa was pulled in at 16-19 in favor of the Angels and immediately delivered a point. However, as both teams ran out of timeouts, the Cool Smashers failed to stop the coming from behind of Petro Gazz, finishing the 1st set at 25-21.
MJ Phillips also contributed to Angel’s effort not only on the net but also on the offense during the second set. While Jonah Sabete also showed consistency in the net, service and offense to add to the campaign of the Angels, as Chie Saet’s long years as a veteran player paid off and could be seen in her sets, thus dictating the tempo in favor of Petro Gazz as Creamline’s defense crumbled ending the 2nd set at 16-25 favoring the Angels.
In the 3rd set, Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses called an early time out at 1-4 to pep talk his teams and prevent the lead of Petro Gazz. Kyle Negrito who was having a hard time setting up for Creamline likewise stepped up in the net defense earning a couple of points for Creamline. The table turned with a seven to zero run of Creamline that gave a 17 to 19 lead to CCS. However, Brooke Van Sickle could not agree more as she took care of the digs and offense consecutively that tied the game at 21 a piece. But Creamline did not succumb to the pressure and took the point one at a time again, ending the 3rd set at 23-25 to favor the Smashers.
Photo credit to original owner
Petro Gazz took the early lead in the 4th set at 2-5 forcing an early challenge from the CCS. Bernadette Pons delivered for the Creamline at 5-7 as she blocked Phillips. Lorie Bernardo sustained the magic for the Creamline from 3rd to 4th set and managed to steal a game play and score for the Cool Smashers everytime Petro Gazz attempted to inch away.
Pressure was sinking in both teams at 15-15 which later pave the way for the Angels to advance the lead at 16-15. However, Pons continued to resist and tied the ball at 16.
Creamline even goes all offense as they pulled out Negrito at 17-18. But Brooke managed to keep the torch for the Petro Gazz, sustaining a two point lead 18-20, followed by another offense from Aiza Maiso-Pontillas at 18-21. Dacuron also showed consisyency in her game as she adds to the scoring---followed by Van Sickle who brought the Angels to match point at 19-24. But it was the attack punctuated by the cramping Sabete that ended the All Filipino season at 19-25 score thus writing a new history for the PVL-AFC in favor of Petro Gazz Angels.
Meanwhile, the Akari Chargers in an earlier game at the PhilSports Arena had swept the three sets against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans that earned them the Bronze Medalist title. While the Creamline took home the Silver Medal Awards.