Petro Gazz endured a game-long test of skills and poise then loaded up late in the third to scuttle Nxled, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, and stretch its win run to three in the PVL on Tour at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur last night.
Dragged into a fierce battle from start to finish by the surprisingly tough Chameleons, the Angels fought back from two points down late in the third frame, leaning on their experience as they scored seven of the last nine points to pound out the victory in one-hour and 36 minutes before a highly appreciative crowd of 3,275.
Petro Gazz thus notched its third straight win via sweep following romps over Galeries Tower and Gelfor as it matched arch rival Creamline’s strong start in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference elims.
But the Angels needed to draw clutch plays from playmaker Djanel Cheng and hitter Aiza Pontillas to repel the Chameleons, who looked headed to extending the match after Jho Maraguinot fired a down-the-line hit on Zone I to lift Nxled to a 20-18 lead.
But Petro Gazz scored on a lucky break in the ensuing play as they caught the Chameleons’ defense napping as the former notched a key point despite a flawed reception that dropped onto the latter’s frontcourt.
That proved to be the spark for the Angels’ decisive windup as Cheng came through with a couple of 1-2 plays, the first ending a long exchange of hits and digs that tied it at 20 and the last giving the two-time Reinforced Conference champions a 23-21 cushion.
Pontillas earlier knocked in a hit then delivered her own down-the-line assault to put the Angels at match point. The Chameleons hastened their downfall as setter Kamille Cal fouled up on the service line.
Nxled, which swept Gerflor but lost to F2 Logistics in 3, fell to 1-2.
Pontillas topscored for Petro Gazz with 15 points while Grethcel Soltones and Jonah Sabete drilled in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Still, they proved they can measure up with the best in the fold with Lycha Ebon and Camille Victoria matching 10-point outputs and Maraguinot and May Luna came up with nine markers apiece for one of the league’s two newcomers.
–//
