Brooke Van Sickle. —PVL IMAGES
Petro Gazz had the services of Brooke van Sickle for four games now in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL). And the Filipino-American hitter has gotten better each time she steps on the court.
Van Sickle credits her improvements to her teammates. Oh, and their underdog mentality.
“Like how coach Koji [Tsuzurabara] was mentioning, we definitely have the challenger’s mindset,” she said after delivering her best performance yet in the All-Filipino Conference. “Definitely when we get into practice every single day, we’re working, trying to get better, we wanna win, right?”
READ: PVL: Brooke Van Sickle gets crack at Davison, leads Petro Gazz past PLDT
“And it’s good because we can challenge and push each other but then it’s such a positive, good way, there’s never any bad energy.”
After outplaying the highly touted Savannah Davison in a previous win over PLDT, Van Sickle topped that outing with 24 points from 18 attacks, two blocks and four aces as the Angels swept Akari, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17, on Saturday.
Beating contenders
Since dropping a tense five-setter to Choco Mucho, Petro Gazz has swept two Final Four contenders.
“Losing sucks. But I am happy that it happened in the beginning and we’re able to take those lessons and apply it for the rest of the conference versus learning lessons towards the end,” Van Sickle said. “It’s bittersweet so it’s not all bad … you still learn.”
Forming a formidable 1-2 punch with Jonah Sabete, who had 12 points, all from kills, Van Sickle is proud to be a part of a team who is supportive and consider as family.
READ: PVL: Sisi Rondina all praises for Brooke Van Sickle after their first duel
“When it counted, mattered, we were able to deliver and able to execute when we had to at the points … just stuff like very clutch plays, so I am proud of my teammates for that,” she said.
Van Sickle, who admitted feeling jitters in her debut in the league, has shown that she is getting comfortable as the Angels take on tough teams and reach their ultimate goal.
After a measly seven point outing against Strong Group, she had 18 points versus the Flying Titans and 23 opposite the High Speed hitters.
“We have to continue to work very hard in the gym. Our coaches do a fantastic job of scouting. We already start watching film starting on Monday and our coaches are very strategic, very good at coming up with a game plan,” she said. INQ