Petro Gazz, Choco Mucho target finals berth-clinching wins

Games Thursday
(PhilSports Arena)
4 p.m. – Petro Gazz vs Creamline
6 p.m. – Chery Tiggo vs Choco Mucho

MANILA, Philippines – In the next few days, the Premier Volleyball League's skies will have the same two teams that have been dominating it recently — the Petro Gazz Angels and the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.

And both Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho will have a chance to arrange that intriguing PVL All-Filipino Conference title showdown if they could hurdle Creamline and Chery Tiggo, respectively, Thursday in a pair of critical semis matchups at the PhilSports Arena.

Both the Angels and the Flying Titans gained the early upper hand in the race to the best-of-three finals, with the former swooping down on the Crossovers in a 20-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-18 win and the latter outlasting the Cool Smashers in an epic 13-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-16 win Tuesday.

If both squads could hurdle their foes by at least four sets, they would arrange a showdown between teams hungry to claim the most sought after title of all — the All-Filipino Conference crown.

Game time is at 4 p.m. for Petro Gazz, which is eyeing its first AFC plum after its pair of Reinforced Conference triumphs, while Choco Mucho, which will be gunning its breakthrough title, goes for it at 6 p.m.

“Every team wants to win, it’s really who wants it,” said Petro Gazz star Brooke Van Sickle, who unleashed a match-high 21 points in that emphatic win over Chery Tiggo.

For Choco Mucho skipper Maddie Madayag, who broke a 12-game losing curse against Creamline, it is going to be all about collective effort.

“Teamwork lang talaga,” she said.

It isn’t over though for Creamline and Chery Tiggo, which could get back on their feet with a much-needed victory.

There is also a chance that Creamline’s Tots Carlos and Chery Tiggo’s Mylene Paat could return after missing the first semis duel to attend the Korean league’s rookie combine the last three days.

Minus the two, the Cool Smashers and the Crossovers played like they lost a limb with the former blowing a two-set lead and the latter wasting a one-set edge that sent them crashing to painful defeats.