New import helps Petro Gazz spread wings even wider

Petro Gazz celebrates after scoring against Pocari Sweat Air Force. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon

For the second straight game, Olena Lymareva-Flink almost single-handedly carried Petro Gazz to victory.

The Ukrainian star unloaded 30 points for a 25-19, 20-25, 28-26, 25-21 victory over defending champion Pocari Sweat-Air Force Wednesday night in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at Filoil Flying V Centre.

The 25-year-old Lymareva-Flink, who gushed about the warm welcome her teammates showered her with upon arriving in the country six days ago, was certainly at home with the Angels, igniting decisive fight-backs in the third and fourth sets.

“This is what I called like a team game,” said the 6-foot spiker, who also accounted for five aces. “We were a little bit down but we collected all the power and the emotion and pushed, pushed, pushed.”

The Angels indeed pushed the Lady Warriors to the limit for two successive sets, climbing from 8-16 to steal the third frame, before chipping away from a 2-10 deficit in the fourth to score their second straight win.

Petro Gazz thus forced a gridlock in the middle of the standings by catching their foes at 3-3.

“Every player did something out there, we started believing in ourselves and everybody is playing for victory,” added Lymareva-Flink, who joined the Angels midconference after 6-foot-4 Kudi Kullerkann got injured.

“It is already a great experience for me; I’m so proud I can be part of the team,” said Lymareva-Flink. “It’s like I’ve been playing here for a couple of years already.”