by Kristel Satumbaga
Games Today (The Arena, San Juan City)
2 p.m. – BanKo-Perlas vs Pacifictown Army
4 p.m. – Motolite vs BaliPure
PetroGazz survived a shaky second set before toppling Pacifictown Army, 25-12, 29-27, 25-15, on Saturday to sweep the first-round eliminations of the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Reinforced Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.
It was the fifth straight victory for the Angels, who have yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Wilma Salas and Janisa Johnson sizzled once again for PetroGazz by firing 27 and 22 points highlighted by a combined 36 kills, stepping up in the pivotal moments of the second frame where they dug deep from a 22-18 deficit en route to the set win.
Salas attacked the net with down-the-line spikes and Jeanette Panaga aced her serve to tie it at 23-all to keep their composure before a spike error from Olena Lymareva-Flink gave the Angels the crucial win.
PetroGazz dominated Army in all departments by cruising to a 12-6 lead in the third for good. Overall, the Angels pounced on 47 kills, made 12 blocks and fired 10 aces compared for the Lady Troopers’ 23 spikes, three blocks and seven aces.
Meanwhile, Creamline rolled to its third straight win after an opening loss, beating Motolite 13-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-23.
Thai import Kuttika Kaewpin scored 17 points on attacks as the Cool Smashers kept second spot behind PetroGazz.
Skipper Alyssa Valdez said their reception struggles in the first set accounted for the early deficit.
“We knew what we were doing wrong in the first set so we just focused on becoming more consistent in the next sets,” said Valdez.
Motolite absorbed its fourth consecutive, Channon Thompson’s 23 points not with standing.