Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29) – The Petro Gazz Angels downed the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers in four sets, 25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre to book the last semis berth in the 2022 PVL Open Conference.
Gretchel Soltones led the scoring for the Angels with 22 points while Aiza Pontillas and Jonah Sabete came up big with a production of 18 points each.
The first set was an easy outing for Petro Gazz, but the Angels were put into a tough test by F2 Logistics in the next set as the Cargo Movers started to click on their attacks.
Both the Angels and the Cargo Movers engaged in a close battle in the third set, but the former leaned on veteran spiker Pontillas in scoring back row kills that left their foes scrambling defensively.
In the fourth set, F2 Logistics capitalized on successful digs and points from the defensive lapses of Petro Gazz for a slim lead.
But the Angels made the adjustments by hitting attacks that went beyond the control of their foes to hold a five-point lead towards the homestretch of the match.
The Jerry Yee-coached Petro Gazz clinched the semifinals berth with an Ara Galang outside spike, off a long rally between the two gallant teams.
The dominant form of the Angels was evident with their big margin in total spikes (67-39) and excellent digs (91-62) in the quarterfinals bout.
The Cargo Movers bowed out of title contention with Aby Marano and Kim Kianna Dy finishing with 11 points each in their third straight loss since starting a 2-0 slate in the pool play.
Petro Gazz will have a tough task in their next assignment as they are set to collide with the unbeaten Cignal HD Spikers in the best-of-three semifinals starting Friday.
