Out of the semis battle, Petro Gazz was far being down, recovering from a first set meltdown with a sweep of the next three as it dealt semifinalist Cignal its first defeat via a 19-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14 result in the 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference on Tuesday.
The Angels finally showed the spunk and grit missing in their first four games, which they all dropped, out-smarting the erstwhile unbeaten HD Spikers from the second set while pouncing on the sidelining of top hitter Ces Molina in the second frame.
Petro Gazz also spoiled Cignal's title drive in the recent Open Conference that saw the Angels repulse the HD Spikers in the semis. They, however, lost the crown to the powerhouse Creamline Cool Smashers.
Molina, the second leading scorer after Creamline's Tots Carlos in the elims, left the court writhing in pain after landing on Aiza Pontillas' foot in a joust late in the second set dominated by the Angels and suffered an ankle sprain.
Despite the loss, Cignal remains at the top of the seven-team field with a 4-1 mark while Petro Gazz tied Chery Tiggo at 1-4 with two playdates left in the single round robin elims where the top four will move to the next round with foreign guest teams Kobe Shinwa of Japan and KingWhale of Taiwan.
