Jonah Sabete–fueled by mom’s memory–helps Angels knock out foes

Petro Gazz Angels’ Jonah Sabete. –PVL PHTO

Petro Gazz is having a terrific start in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, largely due to Brooke van Sickle’s string of steadily rising performances.

But there’s another reason for the Angels’ rise, a second piece in their roster who has been on a tear as a secondary threat in Petro Gazz’s 4-1 (win-loss) standing: Jonah Sabete.

“It is imprinted on my mind that being a professional in a business and always receiving a salary, I need to perform,” Sabete told the Inquirer in Filipino.

READ: PVL: Van Sickle, Sabete seek consistency after leading Petro Gazz win

Sabete had 11 points as Petro Gazz swept Farm Fresh, 25-21, 27-25, 25-19, on Thursday at PhilSports Arena, backing up Van Sickle, who had 26 points on 20 attacks.

When Van Sickle signed with the club, the longtime Petro Gazz cog knew that the Filipino-American spiker can’t win games for the Angels on her own. So she took it on herself to provide reliable reinforcement for her prolific teammate.

Sabete has been a consistent performer for Petro Gazz even with Van Sickle constantly topping her outputs with each passing game. The outside spiker, as of writing, has a 44.35 percent success rate in her attacking and is currently the best in the league in that department—a welcome surprise for the Angels considering her former role with the team.

SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024

“I have been with Petro Gazz for a long time … [I know] I also need to help my team not only on defense,” said Sabete, who has formed a lethal 1-2 punch in the Angels’ offense with Van Sickle.

“Before, I was only being put inside for defense and reception so I said to myself, ‘I need to help Brooke.’”

That move was important because Sabete is filling the gap left by the departure of Grethcel Soltones to Akari during the offseason.

“I didn’t want to be outdone by my teammates; I also want to be in the first six. It was somewhat a healthy competition for me and coach Koji [Tsuzurabara] has been helping me improve my mental toughness,” she added.

Forever a motivation

Aside from her desire for self-improvement, there is a deeper motivation that is pushing Sabete. Someone who is now just a name written on her shoes but is a constant presence with her on the court— Mama.

Back in Petro Gazz’s championship run in 2022, the franchise’s last title, Sabete lost her mother and made it hard for her to focus in that Reinforced Conference.

Because she was needed in that series, where the Angels was being led by import Lindsey vander Weide, she was not able to immediately fly home to Negros Occidental province.

“I wanted to go home but I couldn’t because we were in the championships,” said Sabete, who couldn’t help crying at the thought of her mother. “Coach Arnold [Laniog] and coach Rald [Ricafort] were not able to field me at that time because of what happened.”

As soon as Petro Gazz clinched that Reinforce crown, Sabete rushed home to pay her last respects. And almost two years since her mother’s death, she still serves as inspiration for Sabete.

“She will never not be a motivation for me,” she said. “All of the hardship that I’ve gone through, I wouldn’t be here, alive, without her.”