Petro Gazz made a powerful statement heading into the Premier Volleyball League qualifying round, sweeping Nxled, 25-19, 25-14, 25-17, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Thursday night.
With their dominant performance, the Angels closed the preliminaries with a nine-game winning streak, finishing with a 10-1 (win-loss) record, matching Creamline’s slate.
However, Creamline secured the top seed due to a superior set win points ratio, placing Petro Gazz at No. 2 and setting up a qualifying round clash with the Capital1 Solar Spikers.
Meanwhile, the Cool Smashers will take on the last-placed Nxled Chameleons, while Cignal HD Spikers (No. 3) will face Galeries Tower.
The Highrisers, the Solar Spikers and the Chameleons all wound up with 1-10 cards.
Petro Gazz wasted no time asserting dominance, building early leads and sustaining them throughout the match. Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips and Aiza Pontillas led the offensive charge, capitalizing on Nxled’s defensive lapses.
The Chameleons attempted a late surge in the third set but fell short as Pontillas’ off-the-block hit extended the Angels' lead to 16-9. Mae Paralejas then delivered back-to-back aces, pushing Petro Gazz to a commanding 23-13 advantage.
Nxled responded with three straight points before Van Sickle halted their momentum with a powerful backrow hit.
After Chiara Permentilla managed a sideout for Nxled, Myla Pablo sealed the victory with a decisive power spike, wrapping up the match in just 1 hour and 21 minutes.
While the Angels had multiple standout performances, setter Djanel Cheng earned Best Player of the Game honors for her 14 excellent sets and two crucial points.
“The team’s strong communication has been key to our success,” said Cheng in Filipino. “But we need to go back to training, study our next opponents, stay disciplined, and continue building confidence.”
Van Sickle led the scoring charge with 17 points, followed by Phillips with 14 markers. Pablo contributed nine points, while Pontillas added seven. Kecelyn Galdones made an impact in her two-set appearance, scoring six points, and Nicole Tiamzon chipped in three.
Coach Koji Tsuzurabara utilized his deep roster effectively, ensuring that all 11 players on the team contributed to the victory.
On the other side, Lycha Ebon spearheaded Nxled’s offense with 12 points, while Permentilla added nine markers. EJ Laure and Krich Macaslang each tallied five points, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent the Chameleons from ending the preliminaries with a 1-10 record.
