MJ Phillips (No. 13) celebrates a point with the rest of the Angels. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Playing steadier in the third and fourth frames of a match littered with errors, Petro Gazz on Monday roared to a second straight win after the Angels clipped PLDT, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 25-18, to move within another win of sweeping Group B in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference eliminations at Paco Arena in Manila.
“It was an ugly win,” rued Petro Gazz coach Jerry Yee after the win carved out in one-hour and 58 minutes where both squads combined for 70 boo-boos. “But it’s still nice to win in that fashion.”
Nicole Tiamzon led the Petro Gazz assault with 13 points—12 on attacks—with MJ Phillips unloading eight spikes to finish with 11 points and Jonah Sabete backing them up with 10 points, including three aces.
The two teams actually fought it out in spurts and it was close all throughout, with Petro Gazz scoring 44 attack points, just one better than PLDT. The Angels also produced seven blocks and aces against their rivals’ five in both departments.
But the Angels proved steadier in the last two frames, squeezing out a tough win in the third frame and then breaking away from a 15-13 count in the fourth behind a closing 10-5 binge aided by the High Speed Hitters’ miscues.
PLDT produced 91 excellent digs against Petro Gazz’s 65 and posted 31 excellent sets, including 23 from veteran Rhea Dimaculangan, against Petro Gazz’s 24, including 20 from Chi Saet. But the High Speed Hitters struggled big-time trying to convert them into points to the chagrin of coach George Pascua.
Joy Soyud tried to single-handedly rally PLDT late in the fourth with a cluster of points, but the Angels just had answers for every charge with Aiza Pontillas foiling a Toni Basas attack to wrap up the contest.
Soyud led all scorers with 17 points while Dell Palomata added 10 hits, mostly on quick plays and power tips. Celebrated middle blocker Mika Reyes added eight points to the losing PLDT cause.
The Angels shoot for the sweep against the Creamline Cool Smashers on Wednesday.