MANILA — In a performance that looked every bit like their old championship form, the Petro Gazz Angels closed the PVL Reinforced Conference preliminaries with a statement win—taking down the higher-ranked PLDT High Speed Hitters, 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
More than just securing the No. 5 seed, the Angels sent a clear message: they remain a dangerous playoff contender.
Despite being outgunned in attacks, 76-59, Petro Gazz leaned on relentless floor defense and the explosive duo of Lindsey Vander Weide and Brooke Van Sickle to hand PLDT only its second loss of the conference. Vander Weide erupted for a conference-best 35 points, while Van Sickle supplied 27.
Libero Bangs Pineda, who anchored Petro Gazz’s stabilizing defense with 23 digs and 10 receptions, earned Best Player honors.
“Nag-cover lang ako sa mga nawawala. ’Yun ang malaking tulong ko sa kanila,” said Pineda, who reunited this season with several former teammates and immediately embraced her role as the team’s defensive glue.
The win capped a tumultuous but thrilling prelims round. Farm Fresh clinched the top seed with a 7-1 card after sweeping Chery Tiggo earlier in the day, while ZUS Coffee also finished at 7-1 but settled for the No. 2 seed via tiebreak. PLDT slipped to third (6-2), followed by Creamline, Petro Gazz, Cignal, Capital1, and Akari completing the quarterfinal cast.
PLDT tried to extend the match, overcoming four match points late in the fourth behind the defensive grit of Kath Arado. But Vander Weide eventually put an end to the rally with a crisp back-row finish.
The High Speed Hitters stayed competitive through the heavy scoring of Savi Davison (27), Nastya Bavykina (21), and Kim Dy (8), while Mika Reyes and Majoy Baron added seven each./PN
