Petro Gazz Angels in the PNVF Champions League. –HANDOUT PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Remy Palma marveled at the immediate impact of new outside spiker Brooke Van Sickle and Japanese coach Koji Tsuzurabara on Petro Gazz, which eyes the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League supremacy.
Despite playing for a new coach and having a retooled roster, the Angels showed a glimpse of what they are capable of after sweeping the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14, to book a final duel against the Cignal HD Spikers on Saturday at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Palma credited their good start to the mentality of Van Sickle and the patience of their Japanese coach, who both arrived in late January.
“Brooke, coming to our team, is a very great addition. I can say that she’s been a big help to our team and she’s a big boost because of her fighting spirit. The way she plays, I like the energy, and the way she pounds the ball will motivate you to play harder,” said the veteran middle blocker in Filipino after scoring 10 points in the knockout semifinal on Friday evening. “I am really grateful that she’s with us. We will still go through a lot of challenges, we have a long conference ahead of us. But we will continue to trust the process.”
Behind the scoring prowess of Van Sickle, the Angels finished with a 2-2 record in the eliminations before snapping the Crossovers’ three-game winning streak to set a Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference championship rematch against the unbeaten HD Spikers.
Petro Gazz Angels’ Brooke Van Sickle.–PNVF PHOTO
The new Petro Gazz captain believes their transition was made easier by Tsuzurabara, who is bringing his experience from coaching in different countries.
“He has his own style. Coming from different countries, the mindset that he’s been giving us is you need to play with attitude toward the game,” Palma said. “We’re happy with the result so far. Although we are still in the day-to-day process of adapting coach Koji’s system, which won’t happen overnight.”
“We can bring this preseason experience coming to the PVL conference. It’s a good start but the next league will be longer and tougher.”
After losing Grethcel Soltones, Petro Gazz signed the Filipino-American Van Sickle, Mich Morente, Ethan Arce, Joy Dacoron, and returning spiker Myla Pablo to reinforce Palma and her fellow holdovers Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Jonah Sabete, Nicole Tiamzon, Djanel Cheng, and KC Galdones.
Palma is excited to play their first championship game with their retooled roster under Tsuzurabara against Cignal, which banks on new libero Dawn Macandili-Catindig, Vanie Gandler, Ces Molina, Gel Cayuna, Ria Meneses, and Rose Doria.
“We’re excited to play because it’s a winner-take-all. Our vibe right now is we have high emotions but we can’t forget our goal and we have to continue sticking to the process,” Palma said.
The last time Petro Gazz and Cignal clashed in a championship, the Angels swept the HD Spikers in the series behind the dominance of Lindsey Vander Weide.