The Petro Gazz Angels. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA — Petro Gazz shocked the higher-ranked PLDT, 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, to wrap up its two-round preliminaries campaign in the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Showing their true form, the reigning All-Filipino Conference champions snapped the High Speed Hitters' four game winning streak, and have improved their standing as the quarterfinals picture got completed following the conclusion of the Thursday triple-header.
The No. 5 Petro Gazz will face rival and defending titlist Creamline, the No. 4 seed; while PLDT, which slipped to No. 3 battles Cignal (No. 6).
READ: PVL: Trebichavska lifts Cignal past defending champion Creamline in 5-set battle
By virtue of PLDT's first set loss today, the Farm Fresh Foxies—for the first time in franchise history—has secured the No. 1 seed, and will be taking upset-seeking and last year's Reinforced Conference runner-up Akari.
Finally, Zus Coffee—which also got its highest seeding in team history at No. 2—will face Capital1, which won earlier in the day against Galeries.
READ: PVL: Trebichavska lifts Cignal past defending champion Creamline in 5-set battle
MOMENTUM
Moreover, as Petro Gazz stunned the rolling PLDT, it gained a much-needed momentum, thanks to the duo of Lindsey Vander Weide and Brooke Van Sickle.
They combined for a whopping 62 points, accounting for more than two-set scores. Jonah Sabete and MJ Phillips made their presence felt with 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Steering that immense firepower was youngster and rookie Jules Tolentino, who listed 27 excellent sets, while libero Sheila Pineda added 23 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions to lead the stoppage of PLDT attacks, and Van Sickle actually completed a triple-double, adding 15 excellent digs and 14 excellent receptions.
On the other hand, the duo of Savi Davison and Anastasiia Bavykina garnered 27 and 21 points, but lacked the supporting cast in terms of scoring, as no other PLDT aside from them breached twin-digit scoring.