The Petro Gazz Angels locked themselves into the semifinals of the PVL All-Filipino Conference as they pounced on the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in Iloilo City, Tuesday.
The Angels secured a Final Four seat, and in the process, ended the hopes of the Crossovers for a playoff spot with a 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 victory at the jampacked San Agustin Gymnasium.
Petro Gazz capped the elimination round with a 6-2 win-loss card, tied with the F2 Logistics and behind the Creamline Cool Smashers, who have a 6-1 slate.
Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo bowed out of the competition with a 4-4 slate. Their loss also assured the PLDT High Speed Hitters (5-2) of the last semis ticket.
"I always tell them to start it right, end it right. Start it strong and end it strong. Makikita mo naman na they really did their best, and I'm happy na nagre-respond 'yung mga players. I'm happy with these Angels, kasi they're really working hard, they're really working hard," head coach Oliver Almadro said after his team extended their winning run to four.
Leading the charge for the Petro Gazz was Grethcel Soltones who had 14 points while Iloilo pride Aiza Maizo-Pontillas added 13 attacks to get the player of the game citation.
Remy Palma was also instrumental in the win with a 12-point production.
After capturing the opening set, the Angels did not waste time in the second frame building a supposed 24-17 comfortable separation after a drop ball by Soltones.
But an error of Petro Gazz followed by a confusion from a non-call sparked a 7-0 run for Chery Tiggo that forced an extension in the set.
The Angels thought a pancake attempt from Crossovers’ libero Buding Duremdes was not good, which would have ended the set. It was called good ball by the referees, however, and resulted in a score for Chery Tiggo.
Tied at 26, a double contact error was called for the Crossovers before Jonah Sabete ended the frame with a crosscourt hit.
In the third set, Petro Gazz stretched their separation from 10-8 to a 16-8 gap after a 6-0 spurt, punctuated by a push from MJ Philips.
But the Crossovers got some life in the latter part as they made final push with a 10-4 run which started with an off-the-block spike from Mylene Paat that trimmed their deficit to just two, 20-22.
After a timeout, Remy Palma squeezed in an attack followed by Pontillas’ down-the-line hit that put the Angels at match point, 24-20.
Paat would save one match point but Philips ended the game with a soft attack.
The league's leading scorer, Paat, finished the game with 15 points while Czarina Carandang impressed the fans in Iloilo with her 16 points.
