Angels look to close out HD Spikers

Riri Meneses (left) and Cignal battle MJ Philips and Petro Gazz anew. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ

It’s not often that a team can spot a problematic part of its game despite coming from a victory.

Petro Gazz has that advantage.

“We learned our lesson against Cignal when we let go of [parts of] the third set,” said Angels coach Rald Ricafort. “We have to lose the complacency [we fall into] when we get a two-set lead, because there is that chance that we turn [our game] off a little bit.”

Ricafort was referring to a previous game against the HD Spikers where they blew three match points in the third set before closing out the match in the fourth.

But he might as well have been talking about Game 1 of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference championship.

The wringer that Petro Gazz had to go through before finally slamming the third set shut on Cignal will give the team something to work on as it goes for a title sweep in Game 2 on Tuesday at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The Angels had several chances to wrap up a 25-21, 27-25, 37-35 victory way earlier, but bungled several closeout chances against the stubborn HD Spikers.

And Cignal’s fight-back in Game 1 is enough to carve worry lines in the faces of the Petro Gazz coaches.

“We know how Cignal suddenly comes to life just by winning a set,” Ricafort told the Inquirer over the phone in Filipino last Saturday. “So we will give it our all [and go for a sweep] because their (HD Spikers’) confidence can really go up and give us all sorts of problems.”

—Inquirer Sports Staff INQ