As the last club team standing for the Philippines in the AVC Women’s Champions League, Petro Gazz certainly showed—even in defeat—how to defend home turf.
The Angels certainly took to the door swinging on Friday night, pushing Chinese champion BAIC Motor to the proverbial limit before going down, 31-29, 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12, at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
“Being not so tall, I kinda assumed [we were going up against] the Great Wall of China today,” Petro Gazz star Brooke Van Sickle said after the marathon two-hour, 18-minute contest that certainly left a lot of local fans proud. “I figured, ‘Okay, I’ll just try my best of hitting and just stay aggressive.’”
Petro Gazz followed Creamline and PLDT to the exits but played the most impressive. The Cool Smashers and High Speed Hitters failed to win a set against their quarterfinal foes.
The game could have gone either way, as the Angels were sharp all night. They also didn’t show a tinge of awe against their taller foes.
“It was a lot of grit, and I felt that from everyone,” added Van Sickle, pouring in 17 points from 12 attacks and two blocks apart from a game-high 22 excellent digs.
Beijing BAIC Motor sealed a semifinal matchup with VTV Binh Dien Long An, which booted out Kaohsiung Taipower, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 28-26, in the earlier game.
The Chinese were powered by Ye Jin’s 37 big points, with Yufei Lu helping with 19 points, Lanfeng Shan 12 and Hongyi Shen 11 points.
Jin was all business but showed her game side after the match by posing for photos with Petro Gazz players.
Petro Gazz simply did not back down and actually looked like a threat to the Asian power, as the Angels tried to match and somehow pierced the Chinese net defense.
Running on fumes
With both teams already visibly tired, China banked on its edge in size to pull through in the deciding frame. Jin nailed a kill down the line to give the Chinese an 11-6 advantage.
Import Gia Day scattered 35 points, with Jonah Sabete chipping in 15 and MJ Phillips 11.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
The good thing about playing in such a tense match was that Petro Gazz coaching staff already saw the commodity it has in Day, who they can use as an import for the next PVL conference.
“How coach Koji [Tsuzurabara] said, China’s in the top class in the world, in that division,” Van Sickle, a two-time PVL MVP, said. “Just to be able to go five sets with them is super unreal, so I’m just really happy with everyone’s fight.”
