The Petro Gazz Angels are the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference champions after beating the Zus Coffee Thunderbelles, 21-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20, on Championship Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. With their conquest, the Angels have now won the title in this tournament thrice, with the first two being in 2019 and 2022.
Petro Gazz Bucks Early Deficit
For a while there, the upstart Thunderbelles looked poised to author a storybook ending to their Cinderella season as they won the first set, 25-21. But the Angels, displaying their championship pedigree and relying on their all-around talent, bounced back in the second set before seizing control with another tight victory in the third set.
Import Lindsey Vander Weide paced the Angels with 23 points despite coming off an injury scare in Petro Gazz’s semis win over the Creamline Cool Smashers. Brooke Van Sickle, who has played like a reinforcement at times this conference, added 20. Myla Pablo, meanwhile, had 14 as her late-conference resurgence provided Petro Gazz another veteran presence with offensive prowess. Perhaps fittingly, she also finished the match off and clinched the title with a fearless kill that set of the Angels’ celebration.
Anna DeBeer led the Thunderbelles with 18, followed by AC Miner’s 16. Thea Gagate chipped in 11, while Chinnie Arroyo and Jovelyn Gonzaga added 7 apiece.
All in all, the Angels outdid the Thunderbelles in every critical department, holding the edge in attacks, 69-57, controlling the net with a 13-10 blocking advantage, and firing three aces to Zus Coffee’s two.
Mission Fulfilled for Lindsey Vander Weide
Post-match, Petro Gazz’s prolific import bared what she told setter Bang Pineda when she arrived months ago, and it was akin to a guarantee: “I told Bang when I got here that we’d run it back—and we ran it back.”
Vander Weide, of course, was the Angels’ import back in 2022 when they beat the Cignal HD Spikers to cop the gold medal in this very same tourney. Three years later, the American came back and did, indeed, lead Petro Gazz back to the promised land, making them the winningest team in PVL Reinforced Conference history. The Cool Smashers, whom the Angels beat in the semis, are No. 2 with two titles in this tournament.
