Games today (Friday)
3 p.m. – Choco Mucho vs Army
6 p.m. – F2 Logistics vs Chery Tiggo
Drawing added firepower and poise from its new recruits, Petro Gazz looked armed and equipped to go for another title run, weathering BaliPure’s fightback to annex a 25-14, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 victory in the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference at the Paco Arena in Manila yesterday.
The Angels actually had to overcome wobbly starts in the first two sets and fell short of their comeback bid in the third frame, enabling the Water Defenders to extend the match. But the former came out smoking in the fourth to wrest early control then warded off their rivals’ rally with clutch hits from Aiza Pontillas and MJ Philips and solid defense from libero Bang Pineda, all former Sta. Lucia stalwarts.
Grethcel Soltones fired three straight hits to give the Angels a 20-14 cushion but BaliPure, aided by a Nicole Tiamzon service error, a Soltones mishit and the team’s net violation, threatened last at 21-24.
But Pontillas came through with a power blast that hit Rapril Aguilar’s arm and bounced off the court, ending the one-hour, 48-minute duel for the third straight match that was decided in four sets following F2 Logistics and Cignal HD’s wins last Wednesday.
Soltones, Philips and Remy Palma finished with 12 hits apiece while Pontillas and Tiamzon added 10 and nine points, respectively, as the Angels, the 2019 Reinforced Conference champions, set the early pace in Group B of the two-pool tournament organized by Sports Vision.
Former MVP Myla Pablo chipped in six hits in a two-set stint for Petro Gazz.
Janine Marciano led BaliPure with 19 points while Gen Casugod backed her up with 11 hits and Aguilar and Bernadette Flora combined for 10 points.
“We’re trying to utilize our new players and give our first team more playing time. We want to maximize our lineup since we only have three games in the first round (three),” said come-backing coach Jerry Yee.
Meantime, action heats up in the early going of the compressed month-long tournament among nine teams as fancied F2 Logistics and defending champion Chery Tiggo face each other again four months after disputing the first PNVF Champions League crown.
The Cargo Movers dominated the Crossovers to complete their sweep of the crown and marked their debut in the second season of the country’s first pro volley league with a 25-15, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22 victory over Black Mamba Army last Wednesday.
in contrast, Chery Tiggo, which surprised Creamline in last year’s finale in Ilocos Norte, absorbed a stinging 22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 18-25 defeat to a surprisingly tough Cignal HD side as the Crossovers struggled in the absence of top scorer Jaja Santiago, who is currently playing in the Japan league.
That makes their 6 p.m. clash with the Cargo Movers in the five-team Group A crucial since every game counts in the single round prelims where the top four teams will advance to the knockout quarters.
Army is also out to rebound as it tangles with the debuting Choco Mucho in the 3 p.m. opener with the Flying Titans to pin their hopes on their twin towers in Bea de Leon and Kat Tolentino and former F2 Logistics ace Aduke Ogunsanya along with Isa Molde, Caitlyn Viray and Ponggay Gaston.
But by dragging the Cargo Movers into a four-setter, the Lady Troopers proved they are a force to reckon with as mainstay Honey Royse Tubino drew solid backup from new recruits Jem Gutierrez, Mich Morente and Jeanette Villareal.
Matches are aired live on One Sports and One Sports Plus as well as on socmed platforms Cignal Play, Gigaplay, KUMU and pvl.ph.