The 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference is heading to the quarterfinals after concluding the preliminary round on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena. And, as if underscoring the excitement of this conference, the final play date of the eliminations shook up the final seedings thanks to the Petro Gazz Angels displaying their vintage, championship form.
Capital1 Rallies Past Galeries
The Capital1 Solar Spikers averted a disastrous end to the preliminary round with a hard-fought 12-25, 29-27, 25-19, 25-18 comeback win over the Galeries Tower Highrisers.
Sasha Bytsenko, Bella Belen, and Sydney Niegos teamed up to power the Solar Spikers, who were staring at a 0-2 deficit after falling behind in the second set, 24-21. But Capital1 came to life just in time, led by Bytsenko, Belen, and Niegos to stage a furious second-set rally and ultimately win the next two for the victory. Bytsenko finished with a match-high 35 points, including the game-winning kill. Belen added 14, and Niegos chipped in 7.
Jelena Cvijovic led Galeries Tower with 18 points, followed by France Ronquillo’s 17, Jean Asis’ 12, and Ysa Jimenez’s 11. But the Highrisers still failed to notch what would’ve been their first win of the conference after losing that second set.
With their win, the Solar Spikers climbed to no. 7 in the standings and will next face no. 2 Zus Coffee Thunderbelles in the quarters.
Up Next:
Capital1 vs. Zus Coffee Thunderbelles – November 24 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Farm Fresh Blanks Chery Tiggo, Secures Top Seed
The Farm Fresh Foxies secured the top seed of the conference with a 25-17, 25-23, 29-27 victory over also-ran Chery Tiggo Crossovers.
Eli Rousseaux paced the Foxies with 20 points and got plenty of support from Ces Molina and Trisha Tubu, who fired 14 and 13, respectively. Molina and Tubu also delivered clutch hits that helped Farm Fresh pull out a hard-earned third-set victory and the match.
Yuni Batista ended her conference with a match-high 28 markers. But no other Chery Tiggo player finished in double figures.
With the win, Farm Fresh will next face the Akari Chargers in a 1 vs. 8 matchup in the quarterfinals.
Up Next:
Farm Fresh vs. Akari Chargers – November 24 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Petro Gazz Upends PLDT, Sets Up QF Showdown with Creamline
The Petro Gazz Angels showed they are a team to watch out for as they overcame tournament favorites PLDT High Speed Hitters, 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, in a tense, exciting matchup of two contenders.
Lindsey Vander Weide typified Petro Gazz’s resolve with an explosive 35-point effort (a career-best in the PVL). She got plenty of help, too, with Brooke Van Sickle firing 27 of her own, Jonah Sabete adding 12, and MJ Phillips chipping in 10. Libero Bangs Pineda provided defensive spunk, coming away with 23 excellent digs and 10 receptions to earn Best Player of the Game honors.
Savi Davison spearheaded PLDT’s attack with 27 points, while Nastya Bavykina scored 21. Kim Dy added 8 points, and Mika Reyes and Majoy Baron had 7 apiece.
With the win, Petro Gazz climbed all the way to fifth and arranged a quarterfinals duel with the Creamline Cool Smashers. PLDT, meanwhile, dropped to no. 3 and a pairing with the red-hot Cignal Super Spikers.
Up Next:
Petro Gazz vs. Creamline Cool Smashers – November 24 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
PLDT vs. Cignal Super Spikers – November 24 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Next Up in the PVL Reinforced Conference
The PVL Reinforced Conference will hold all four knockout quarterfinals matches on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The schedule is as follows:
(1) Farm Fresh vs. (8) Akari – 11:00 a.m.
(4) Creamline vs. (5) Petro Gazz – 1:30 p.m.
(2) Zus Coffee vs. (7) Capital1 – 4:00 p.m.
(3) PLDT vs. (6) Cignal – 6:30 p.m.
