Despite not starting the match, Brooke Van Sickle delivered when Petro Gazz needed her the most as the Angels pulled off the reverse sweep against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
For the first time in her PVL career, Brooke Van Sickle was not part of the Petro Gazz Angels’ starting lineup, even sitting out the first set.
While many fans were left wondering if the former MVP was dealing with an injury or an illness, Van Sickle quickly erased any doubt after leading the Angels to a reverse sweep against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 20-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-7.
Van Sickle came up big in the fifth set, scoring seven of her 10 points. She also finished with 11 excellent digs.
After the match, the Fil-Am spiker revealed that she had minor surgery in December, which prevented her from starting the match.
“I did have a minor procedure the day after we played Cignal [on December 14, 2024]. It’s just like something super small. I just have a little cleanup for my knee but I feel a lot better now. Like in the beginning, I was a little bothered by it but I feel really great now,” Van Sickle said during the post-game press conference.
Coming off a lengthy break, the 26-year-old outside hitter was proud of the team’s resilience to secure their fifth straight win.
“I’m super proud of everyone. I’m pretty sure like almost the whole team played and everyone brought great energy. It didn’t matter who was on the court. Yeah, we did start a little rough, we did come off the break—not that it was not an excuse,” said Van Sickle.
“I’m just really happy and proud of the team. We’re able to figure it out and go through the rough patches, and work on it. I feel like we got better as a team so I’m really happy,” she added.
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Aside from Van Sickle, Myla Pablo and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas stepped up once more for Petro Gazz with 18 points each, while Nicole Tiamzon added 11 markers.
Libero Jellie Tempiatura also had a stellar outing with 20 excellent digs.
“Everyone produced, everyone came in crunch times and we were able to stay calm and steady. I’m just proud of the team to be able to switch the mindset,” said Van Sickle. “Being down two sets, especially winning the third set when it was super close, that was huge. I’m just really proud of everyone to be able to come in and produce.”
The Angels will be back on February 4 when they face the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.