ILOILO CITY – The Petro Gazz Angels sealed their place in the semifinal round of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference with a 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 victory over the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in their final game of eliminations held at the San Agustin Gymnasium here on Tuesday.
Clinching their sixth win, the Angels solidified their place in the semis and in the process gave the last remaining seat to the PLDT High Speed Hitters as they bumped Chery Tiggo down to a 4-4 slate.
PLDT, currently at 5-2, will move on to the semis regardless of the result of their game against the also-ran Choco Mucho Flying Titans on Thursday.
Hometown hero Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Grethcel Soltones and middle blocker Remy Palma heated up for the Angels in front of a rabid Ilonggo crowd that filled gym to the rafters.
Petro Gazz head coach Oliver Almadro heaved a sigh of relief after officially punching their ticket to the semifinal round and being able to give fans here a show.
"Well, syempre, it's really hard going out of town with an important match. Important match ito para sa amin and sa Chery Tiggo so, nakita niyo naman yung first set, talagang isahan talaga. Yung talagang mararamdaman mo na both teams really need this win," said Almadro.
"But we're happy to be an instrument to showcase their talent. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, give their heart, give their soul, give their strength here because yan ang instrument, maraming fans, marami na ngayon lang sila nakita in person so, malaking bagay na nakapunta kami dito," he added.
After surviving an extended second set where Chery saved a total of nine set points because of an errant Petro Gazz side, the Crossovers were forced against the wall with the 0-2 hole.
In the third set, Maizo-Pontillas scored on the down the line hit to send Petro Gazz to match point, 24-20.
While Chery star hitter Mylene Paat was able to save one match point, MJ Phillips scored on a quick attack in the next rally to clinch the victory.
Petro Gazz saw four Angels in twin-digit scoring led by Soltones with 14 points. Maizo-Pontillas added 13 while Palma finished with 12 markers.
Phillips chipped in 10 points in the Angels fourth straight victory to finish with a 6-2 slate.
Czarina Carandang top-scored for Chery in the losing effort with 16 points while Paat added 15 as the Crossovers miss the semis bus.
As it stands, Petro Gazz awaits the result of Creamline and PLDT's final games in eliminations to determine their seeding and matchups for the semifinal round.