The Petro Gazz Angels moved to the threshold of a huge Premier Volleyball League championship as they defeated the vaunted Creamline Cool Smashers, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 26-24, in an epic opener of the All Filipino Finals on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle in the first set but Cebuana ace Grethcel Soltones, the former three-time NCAA MVP from San Sebastian, fired a vicious kill on Zone 1 to key the Angels’ decisive three-hit finishing kick capped by Jonas Sabete’s off-the-block kill against Pangs Panaga.
Creamline bounced back and snatched the next in a gripping endgame battle of nerves and character, but Petro Gazz countered in the pivotal third set in a finish marked by challenges from both sides. The Angels then dominated the early going of the fourth and weathered the Cool Smashers’ series of comebacks to pound out the dramatic, victory.
Sabete, who fought off cramps late in the game, finished with 18 points on top of her 15 excellent receptions.
But the rest of the Angels also dished out their best to surprise the Cool Smashers, who swept them in the season's opener last Feb. 4, with Aiza Pontillas finishing with 15 points, Soltones and MJ Phillips matching 14-point outputs and Remy Palma and ace playmaker Cheng adding eight and five points, respectively.
While Creamline flourished with its power behind Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and Michele Gumabao and top middle Ced Domingo, Petro Gazz banked on its smart plays with Cheng scoring on clever 1-2 plays, Pontillas baffling the Cool Smashers with her drop balls, and Sabete and Phillips providing timely hits from the wing and the middle, respectively.
Galanza and Gumabao each fired 18 points while Carlos ended up with 17 markers and Domingo finished with 14 for the Cool Smashers, who also drew a combined 10-point game from Panaga and de Guzman.