Pacifictown, Petro Gazz off to flying starts

Pacifictown Army bucked a third set meltdown in turning back Bali Pure, 25-20, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23, Sunday to set in motion its title campaign in Season 3 of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Imports Janelle Jordan and Olelna Lymareva-Flink alternated in delivering the blows and finished with 15 points each as the Lady Troopers did well in their return to the league after once reigning supreme in the Shakey’s V-League, which was the predecessor to the PVL, more than a decade back.

In the second game, Creamline got its title defense going off on the wrong foot—quite literally—after taking a 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 defeat at the hands of Petro Gazz.

Creamline superstar Alyssa Valdez suffered a severe ankle sprain in the second set and never returned.

Former two-time league MVP Jovelyn Gonzaga showed she is way past the knee injury that shelved her for two years and chipped in eight hits.

It helped Pacifictown that Bali Pure played minus Danjiela Dzaovic, one of its two imports who is still in the process of clearing her papers.

Dzaovic was in uniform but decided to sit this one game in the last minute after her ITC (International Transfer Certificate) wasn’t processed in time.