Grethcel Soltones took charge as Petro Gazz completed the romp of teams with twice-to-beat edges, downing F2 Logistics, 25-14, 22-25. 25-20, 25-19, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Open Conference to nail the last Final Four seat on Tuesday, March 29 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Soltones fired 22 points, Jonah Sabete scored all of her 18 points on hits, and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas also finished with 18 to spearhead the Angels’ roll to the semis, where they will meet Cignal HD starting at 3 pm on Friday, April 1.
Creamline and Choco Mucho clash in the other semifinal pairing also on Friday at 5 pm.
The Angels put up a strong finishing kick in the third frame then pulled through in a see-saw battle to advance, while frustrating the Cargo Movers from staying in the hunt for a second straight championship after ruling the Champions League via sweep late last year.
Keeping their poise and playing with so much cohesion when it mattered most, the Angels frustrated the Cargo Movers, who wrested an 11-9 lead in the fourth but fell behind at 13-16.
The Angels, with Sabete anchoring their big surge, took 7 of the next 9 points to storm ahead at 16-13.
Petro Gazz stretched the lead to 5 on another pair of Sabete hits, and the Angels moved at match point with a six-point lead.
The Cargo Movers saved one on a block of Maizo-Pontillas, but the Angels soared to the next round as Ara Galang’s crosscourt hit after a long rally sailed long.
