![Brooke Van Sickle propels Petro Gaz Angels over Cherry Tigo Crossover in battle for third place in PVL All-Filipino Conference](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2024/05/IMG_1114_PVL-All-Filipino-Conference-battle-for-third-Petro-Gazz-Chery-Tiggo_Brooke-Van-Sickle-scaled.jpg)
Brooke Van Sickle propelled Petro Gaz Angels over Cherry Tigo Crossover in the battle for third place in the PVL All-Filipino Conference. –Marlo Cueto/INQUIRER.net
Petro Gaz missed out on advancing to the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference finals because the Angels lost momentum at a crucial moment in the semifinals.
However, the Angels will not miss a chance to finish on the podium.
„There's still a (chance) to finish third, but for me it's like starting somewhere and it would be good for the team to hopefully get a podium,“ Brooke Van Sickle told the Inquirer. told the minutes of the meeting. The Angels moved closer to winning the bronze medal again with a 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 27-29, 15-12 win over Cherry Tigo on Thursday. Petro Gaz fell out of the championship race with consecutive losses to eventual finalists Creamline and Choco Mucho, but was defeated by Crossovers in the appetizer of the first game of the title series held at Smart Araneta Coliseum. We fought tooth and nail.
„Obviously, it was tough. I mean, they're a good team, right?“ Van Sickle said of not making it to the best-of-three final. „So even if we didn't come close, I knew it would be a battle like the one against Creamline. For me, it was a great game to be able to play in that kind of environment.“ After the difficult situation in the semifinals. Van Sickle bounced back and scored a career-high 36 points with 31 attacks, four blocks and one ace. She also had 11 great digs and 10 great receptions as Petro Gaz inched closer to a bronze medal in her first conference. Van Sickle got a lot of help from Jonah Sabete, who finished with 21 points, and big MJ Phillips. In the fifth set.
Phillips led the Angels to an 8-4 lead in the deciding game with a timely block and several quick hits. And when the count reached his 12-all, the Angels hung on and got his last three points, completing the marathon game in 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Petro Gaz was sixth in the conference last time before signing Van Sickle. And the Angels immediately showed promise with the prolific hitter leading the way.
„I'm proud of our team and we'll see what we can do,“ she said. „Cherry Tigo is going to fight, so we don't know what's going to happen. Maybe he'll win, maybe he won't. We'll see when the time comes.“
Emotions ran high in Petro Guts' last two games, especially against the defending champion Cool Smashers, and Van Sickle thinks the Angels' ability to control their emotions this time around helped them a lot in the crossover game. ing.
“It was a very close race against Choco Mucho and Creamline,” she said. „We were still even (towards the end of each set), but at that point we just couldn't win.
„I felt like we did a good job (this time) in terms of getting our team together, and I felt like we (played) more like a unit in this game and controlled our emotions,“ Van Sickle continued.
Petro Gaz will be on the offensive again on Sunday at the Big Dome to win the crumb battle.