The Quarterfinals of the 2024–25 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena, and both matches turned out to be 3-0 sweeps. But between the two highly favored teams—the first-seeded Creamline Cool Smashers and the second-seeded Petro Gazz Angels—just one came out on top.
Here’s a recap of the action:
Creamline Sweeps Chery Tiggo Behind Some Vintage Alyssa Valdez
Alyssa Valdez showed there’s a lot left in the tank on Tuesday, firing 16 points on top of 13 excellent digs and 9 receptions to power the Creamline Cool Smashers to a 25-10, 27-25, 25-21 sweep of the Chery Tiggo Crossovers.
Tots Carlos added 13 points, most in the third set, and had back-to-back kill blocks to end the match for Creamline. Bea de Leon and Pangs Panaga, meanwhile, proved a handful at the middle as they combined for 21 points (11 and 10, respectively) and 10 kill blocks (5 each).
Shaya Adorador had 10 points for the Crossovers, who missed the usual firepower of Ara Galang as she could muster only 5 markers. Cess Robles and Pauline Gaston each put up 7 points but their combined efforts, and that of Adorador, were not enough to overcome the Creamline attack.
Game 2 of this best-of-three series is on Saturday, March 21, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Zus Coffee Stuns Petro Gazz, Moves One Win Away from Historic Semis
The Zus Coffee Thunderbelles raced out to an improbable two-set lead and then displayed nerves of steel in a pulsating third set to stun the Petro Gazz Angels, 25-21, 25-23, 27-25, and move on the brink of an historic semis seat.
It was a total team effort for the upstart Thunderbelles, with Chai Troncoso firing a team-high 14, Jovelyn Gonzaga and Thea Gagate contributing 11 each, and Chinnie Arroyo adding 10. Arroyo and Gonzaga also held the fort in the third set, with Arroyo matchin Petro Gazz’s Brooke Van Sickle point for point down the stretch (4 to 3) and Gonzaga delivering the kill block on Myla Pablo to secure the win.
Van Sickle finished with a match-high 18 markers and almost singlehandedly willed the Angels to a third set win. Pablo added 14 but committed two costly miscues in the same set.
Game 2 of this best-of-three series is on Saturday, March 21, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
2024–25 PVL All-Filipino Conference: The Quarterfinals Continue
The 2024–25 PVL All-Filipino Conference Quarterfinals continue on Thursday, March 20, also at the PhilSports Arena. The PLDT High Speed Hitters will try to bounce back against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the first game to tie the series at 11, while the Galeries Tower Highrisers will try to even things up with the Akari Chargers.
