OLD GUARD
The day will come when the new squads of the Premier Volleyball League, with their roster of exciting young standouts, will force a changing of the guard in the league.
Sunday was not that day.
Petro Gazz, a franchise steeped in championship tradition, held off a fierce ZUS Coffee that was looking to write a fairytale ending to the year and hammered out a 21-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 victory in a winner-take-all duel for the Reinforced Conference crown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Youth had its moments, pouncing on the Angels’ sluggish start to seize control of the title clash. But experience prevailed and used a thrilling second set to knock momentum out of the Thunderbelles’ grasp.
Petro Gazz now has a league-best three Reinforced trophies to bring its franchise total to four championships, second behind powerhouse Creamline’s runaway 10.
“This championship means really a lot to us, especially because we were really rocky in the beginning,” said MJ Phillips, who was named Finals MVP after scoring 15 of her 17 points in the last three sets. “But we came together and pulled this out.”
Lindsey Vander Weide, a 2022 champion, fulfilled her promise to run it back with the Angels, delivering a game-high 23 points.
“I said in the beginning, ‘let’s run it back,’ and I wouldn’t say I was half-joking because you never know what’s going to happen,” Vander Weide said.
It was the second championship for Petro Gazz in the calendar year after winning the All-Filipino Conference last May.
Brooke Van Sickle won her third Conference MVP and scored 20 points to win a championship with dad Gary and mom Lisa as Petro Gazz coaches.
“This feels amazing,” she said. “We had a rocky start and I think we had to come together. And this shows that it doesn’t matter how you start, but it matters how you finish. And I’m proud of how everyone came through in such clutch moments.”
Akari’s bronze
Myla Pablo added 14 points in a balanced attack keyed by rookie Jules Tolentino, whose playmaking produced 20 excellent sets. The two combined for the game-icing play.
“When Jules set me up for the last point, I told myself that I had to kill it,” Pablo said. “I wanted to [repay] Jules’ faith that she gave me.”
Earlier in the day, Akari forged a come-from-behind 15-25, 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 20-18 triumph over PLDT to clinch the bronze medal.
The Angels’ performance in the final mimicked their entire run in the conference. Petro Gazz needed five straight wins to end the tournament, including a quarterfinal victory over defending champion Creamline and a semifinal triumph over Akari.
Anna DeBeer carried ZUS Coffee with 18 points, while AC Miner and Thea Gagate had 16 and 11 points, respectively.
