Not one to gloat on personal success, Brooke Van Sickle shone a spotlight on the rest of the Petro Gazz Angels after dropping a career-high 36 points in a win over the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference battle for third on
Brooke Van Sickle was on a mission Thursday night, May 9.
With a chance to push Petro Gazz closer to a bronze in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference, Van Sickle poured a career-high 36 points to power the Angels past Chery Tiggo, 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 27-29, 15-12, in the opener of the best-of-three battle for third place.
The Filipina-American sensation pummelled 31 attacks, swatted four blocks and swung an ace to eclipse her previous personal best of 29 points in a win over Creamline last April 6.
She also delivered on the defensive end, logging 10 excellent receptions.
Brooke Van Sickle huddles with Petro Gazz teammates during Game One of their best-of-three battle for bronze with Chery Tiggo. | Photo (c) RM Chua
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Never one to bask in personal glory, Van Sickle stepped away from the spotlight, choosing instead to shine it on her teammates.
“I couldn’t do it without my teammates, right? It’s a six-man sport and I didn’t realize that I had that many points. I kind of think, maybe, it was a miscount. But, my setters, they did a fantastic job, [Djanel Cheng] did a very good job of being able to set us in system and setting that perfect ball,” Van Sickle said.
“The coaches, too. They told me, like, ‘Hey, if you’re in a situation where, you know, you feel stressed or anything, try to go here.' And all my teammates do [that], too. They’re like, ‘Hey, challenge this blocker.' They give me strategies a lot. So I’m very thankful for that and they help me,” she continued.
“For me, I would rather just win and, you know, I can’t do it without my teammates... Good job to my team. Super proud.”
Van Sickle also underscored Petro Gazz's supportive and dependable team environment which helps ease much of the stress that comes with the game.
"My teammates, I can rely on them. I know other people are producing points. Anyone can have their day or their night. My teammates, they can do amazing things. I don’t feel too much pressure just because I have my teammates,” Van Sickle said.
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The morale-boosting victory also served as a great bounce-back effort for Van Sickle and the Angels after consecutive losses to eventual finalists Creamline and Choco Mucho in the round-robin semifinals which led to their elimination.
“The last two games, they’re tough teams. Losing sucks, you know. No one wants to lose, but I feel they’re good opportunities to learn and self-reflect. Our team did a good job. We actually had a little potluck, so we had a little team bonding to be like, 'Hey, let’s make sure we’re on the same page,'” said Van Sickle.
“It sucks, but tomorrow’s a new day. We have to stick together, be one family, be one unit as we keep moving on. So I feel like we did a good job bouncing back," she added.
Van Sickle and the rest of the Angels are eager to finish off the series and cement their place on the podium in Game Two on Sunday, May 12.