Petro Gazz stakes its unbeaten slate in pursuit of another lead share, facing its most challenging test thus far against a team on a rebound from an opening game slip as the PVL on Tour makes its fourth stop in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Santa Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna Thursday.
F2 Logistics, which shook off a tough five-set defeat to Akari last Oct. 17 with a pair of shutout wins over lightweight rivals, is more than ready to take on the Angels head-on in their 6 p.m. encounter in a match tipped to last the distance.
The Angels and the Cargo Movers are coming off 3-0 romps over the Nxled Chameleons and the Galeries Tower Highrisers, respectively, in faraway Candon, Ilocos Sur over the weekend and both are deemed to have recovered from the rigors of the long trip and be in top form come gametime.
“We need to prepare kasi yan (Petro Gazz) un mga teams na matitibay na. Hopefully, ung mga natutunan namin sa mga past games ay mailabas namin,” said F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego. “But we’ll do our best and hopefully no more injuries.”
Top hitter Myla Pablo, who missed the action up north, is expected to be back and join Ara Galang, Ivy Lacsina, Aby Maraño, Majoy Baron and Jolina dela Cruz as they slug it out with the streaking Angels, who also rolled to 3-0 victories over the Highrisers and the Gerflor Defenders to stalk fellow unbeaten solo leader Creamline Cool Smashers (4-0).
“Importanteng bagay talaga yung pahinga. But there’s no change in our game p[lan, training lang and stay focused,” said Petro Gazz assistant coach Stephen Patrona, who took over from head mentor Timmy Sto. Tomas the last time out.
Sto. Tomas is also expected to be back at the saddle for the Angels, who will again be spearheaded by the crack crew of Grethcel Soltones, Aiza Pontillas, Djanel Cheng, Kecelyn Galdones, Jonah Sabete and Ranya Musa, making the duel truly a match to watch.
Meanwhile, Choco Mucho shoots for its third straight after dropping a four-setter to Creamline as it mixes it up with the winless Defenders at 4 p.m. with Sisi Rondina also raring to soar again with her highly-charged plays.
PLDT, on the other hand, tangles with Nxled in the 2 p.m. opener with the High Speed Hitters likewise setting out for a third win in a row after a four-set setback to the Cignal HD Spikers.
The Chameleons, in contrast, have dropped their last two games after debuting with a straight-set win over the Defenders in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa, BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, SMART, Rebisco, Milcu, Kumu, Asics and SportRadar.
Games can be streamed on Pilipinas Live and PVL.ph and are telecast on One Sports, One Sports+, and SMART Livestream app, according to the organizing Sports Vision.
Games Thursday (Santa Rosa Sports Complex, Laguna)
2 p.m. – PLDT vs Nxled
4 p.m. – Choco Mucho vs Galeries
6 p.m. – F2 Logistics vs Petro Gazz