MANILA — Petro Gazz leaned on an all-around masterclass from Brooke Van Sickle to survive a marathon five-setter and book a return trip to the PVL Reinforced Conference Finals, outlasting the Akari Power Chargers, 25-19, 25-17, 15-25, 22-25, 15-13, on Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Van Sickle delivered one of the most dominant performances of the conference, firing 23 points while anchoring the floor with 18 excellent receptions and 13 excellent digs — a triple-double effort that steered the Angels to their first Finals appearance in three years.
“That was the most stressful game that I played,” Van Sickle admitted. “Akari really pushed us to the limit, kudos to them for playing well (in the semis).”
After squandering a two-set lead and failing to close out the match in the third and fourth frames, Petro Gazz found itself in a razor-thin decider. The Angels created a 14-12 cushion behind an off-the-block hit from Lindsey Vander Weide, before Akari tightened the gap to 13-14 after a service error.
The Power Chargers’ comeback fell short when Gretchel Soltones’ attack sailed long, sealing Petro Gazz’s hard-fought victory.
Vander Weide backed Van Sickle with 16 points, while MarJana Phillips and Myla Pablo added 14 and 13, respectively.
Akari’s Annie Mitchem kept the Power Chargers in the fight with a game-high 28 points, while Celine Domingo and Soltones finished with 16 and 12 markers.
ZUS Coffee barges into first-ever PVL Finals
In the earlier semifinal, the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles clinched their maiden PVL Finals appearance after sweeping the PLDT High Speed Hitters, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22.
Anna DeBeer erupted for 30 points built on 29 kills and an ace, along with eight excellent receptions, to carry ZUS Coffee into the one-game championship duel against Petro Gazz.
Chinnie Pia Arroyo added 14 markers, setter Cloanne Mondonedo produced 18 excellent sets, while libero Alyssa Eroa anchored the defense with 23 digs and 13 receptions.
PLDT’s Anastasiia Bavykina tallied 16 points, while Savannah Davison scored 15 in the losing effort./PN
