PVL quarterfinals: Petro Gazz faces resilient ZUS Coffee in best-of-three showdown

The Petro Gazz Angels look to continue their strong campaign as they take on the surging ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles in the quarterfinals of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.

Petro Gazz secured its place in the playoffs in dominant fashion, cruising past Capital1 in the qualifying round.

The Angels also hold the psychological edge, having overpowered ZUS Coffee, 25-20, 24-26, 28-26, 25-22, in their preliminary round encounter.

With offensive firepower coming from Brooke Van Sickle, Myla Pablo, and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, the Koji Tsuzurabara-led squad aims to impose its will and move one step closer to the semifinals.

Van Sickle and Pablo are part of the Top 10 scorers in the league, ranking third and ninth, respectively. The two are also among the Best Spikers, boasting success rates of 37.60% and 31.63%.

[ALSO READ: Brooke Van Sickle embraces underdog mentality as Petro Gazz extends win streak to six]

However, the Thunderbelles have proven they can battle through adversity, earning their quarterfinal ticket by overcoming the Cignal HD Spikers and Capital1 Solar Spikers in the play-in tournament.

Thea Gagate’s presence at the net, combined with the veteran leadership of Jovelyn Gonzaga and the clutch scoring of Chai Troncoso, will be crucial if ZUS Coffee hopes to pull off an upset.

Gagate is second among Best Blockers with 33 total rejections during the end of the preliminaries.

[ALSO READ: In a conference full of firsts, Thea Gagate stays present as ZUS Coffee heads to PVL QF]

With a best-of-three series at stake, the Thunderbelles must find a way to contain Petro Gazz’s high-powered offense, while the Angels will need to stay sharp against a team that has momentum on its side.

Game 1 of the series, which is set on March 18 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, is set to be an intense clash, as both teams battle for a spot in the semifinals.