Nervy Game 1 win takes Angels on cusp of toppling Cool Smashers
Petro Gazz is on a frantic quest to finally tear down Creamline’s unbroken reign in the PVL All-Filipino Conference, and the Angels are halfway through that mission after a jittery 25-17, 25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 15-10, nipping of the Cool Smashers in Game 1 of their championship showdown on Tuesday night.
The Angels will gun for the jugular on Thursday and are definitely going to need to avoid a meltdown that happened in the third and fourth sets from happening, which allowed the Cool Smashers to come back and get the mostly pro-Creamline crowd at Smart Araneta Coliseum loud.
“Creamline is not the team that will just roll over and give up, so they definitely kept on fighting,’’ said Brooke Van Sickle after hammering the Cool Smashers with 24 points, 21 of them attacks, plus 14 digs and an ace.
MJ Phillips was the spark plug that the Angels needed, scoring six of her 16 points in the final set apart from three blocks that went superbly well with Jonah Sabete’s authoritative smashes which decided the fifth set.
“We always play with a mentality like there’s no tomorrow. We will certainly go all out in Game 2,’’ said Sabete in Filipino.
Chie Saet organized their offense in a highly efficient manner with 20 sets, Sabete contributed 13 attacks out of 16 points and Myla Pablo added 12 as the Angels gave themselves the opportunity to erase past frustrations against the league’s 10-time champions.
Petro Gazz has two import-spiced titles and openly said that it would want to finally win an all-Filipino crown.
The Angels looked primed to doing that after winning the first two sets with authority, only to fall into a tentative state in the next two to hand Creamline momentum.
Recovering in time certainly gives Petro Gazz the confidence it needs as the Angels now have a two-for-one shot to nail the crown and end Creamline’s dynastic reign.
“They basically punched us and we told ourselves ‘oh, what’s happening?’ Van Sickle, in her first title series appearance, said. “It took us a little bit to get back on track and get our energy going again, so I thought our captain did a good job talking to the team,’’
Bernadeth Pons led Creamline with 16 points, 20 excellent digs and 13 receptions while Pangs Panaga added 13 and Bea De Leon 12, highlighted by six blocks.
“I’m expecting Thursday, Creamline will play their best volleyball possible and we have to be ready as a team,’’ said Van Sickle.
