Petro Gazz Shocks PLDT, Books Fiery QF Date With Creamline

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by Misha Cruz

The Petro Gazz Angels
The Petro Gazz Angels. Photo: PVL Images.

Petro Gazz picked the perfect time to wake up, pulling off one of the biggest curveballs of the PVL Reinforced Conference by taking down powerhouse PLDT, 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, Thursday night at the MOA Arena. 

And just like that, the Angels soared into the knockout quarters as the No. 5 seed, and straight into another chapter of their rivalry with Creamline.

In a prelims finish that felt like a plot twist waiting to happen, the standings didn’t settle until the very last ball of the very last match. Petro Gazz’s upset win not only flipped their own fate, but it also reshuffled the entire top half of the bracket. 

Farm Fresh secured No. 1 after its sweep earlier in the day, followed by ZUS Coffee at No. 2 and PLDT sliding down to No. 3. Creamline held steady at No. 4, with Cignal, Capital1, and Akari completing the Top 8.

Petro Gazz's Lindsey Vander Weide
Petro Gazz's Lindsey Vander Weide. Photo: PVL Images.

That sets up a knockout slate dripping with drama: Farm Fresh vs. Akari, ZUS Coffee vs. Capital1, PLDT vs. Cignal, and the fan-favorite grudge match, Creamline vs. Petro Gazz. Win and move on, lose and it’s an early holiday.

For a team that started the conference with some shaky nights, the Angels walked into this one looking like their championship-winning selves again. They erased early deficits in the first two sets, got briefly halted by PLDT’s late third-set stand, then stormed right back in the fourth with poise that screamed: we’re not done yet.

Lindsey Vander Weide was straight-up unstoppable, firing 35 points in her best outing of the season, with Brooke Van Sickle dropping 27 of her own. Jonah Sabete and MJ Phillips added steady scoring as Petro Gazz out-hit PLDT by a mile.

But if there was a heartbeat of the win, it was libero Bang Pineda, whose 23 digs and 10 receptions kept rallies alive long enough for the Angels to turn chaos into points. She even earned Best Player of the Game, and in true humble-queen fashion, simply said she was just “covering the gaps.”

PLDT's Savi Davison spikes the ball against two Petro Gazz defenders
PLDT's Savi Davison spikes the ball against two Petro Gazz defenders. Photo: PVL Images.

PLDT still had its moments, especially behind Savi Davison and Nastya Bavykina, but the Angels’ fourth-set blitz left them chasing all night. Even a mini comeback that trimmed a 24-17 deficit couldn’t stop what felt inevitable.

One last Vander Weide hammer sealed it and sent a loud message heading into the quarters: Petro Gazz is very much alive.