Brooke Van Sickle commended ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles after the Petro Gazz Angels clinched a hard-fought semifinal berth in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Brooke Van Sickle had nothing but respect for the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles after the Petro Gazz Angels clinched a hard-fought quarterfinal series in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
The Fil-Hawaiian spiker led the Angels to a decisive 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 victory in Game 3 with a game-high 24 points.
After the match, Van Sickle admitted that playing against ZUS Coffee pushed her and the team to the limit.
"ZUS is a fantastic team. Every conference, they just keep getting better and better, and it's really cool to see," Van Sickle said during the post-game press conference. "I think they're one of the best defensive teams. They're so scrappy and have this incredible attitude when it comes to defense. It pushes us to match their level, which is awesome."
The Thunderbelles stunned the Angels in Game 1 to move one win away from their first-ever semifinal appearance.
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Reflecting on their loss, Van Sickle bared it was a wake-up call for No. 2 seed Petro Gazz.
"Yeah, I mean, losing sucks. It's not fun. I feel like you learn your biggest lessons through losses because you're forced to look at yourself as a whole, as a team, and really figure out what needs to be better and what can't be excusable," said Van Sickle.
“We had to choose—either come back fighting or just be done. So, obviously, we talked as a team and said, 'Hey, that's not the Petro Gazz way.' We knew we could come out with more energy and just play better volleyball,” she added.
True to their word, the Angels bounced back with a dominant Game 2 win and carried that momentum into Game 3 to punch their ticket to the semifinals.
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“To be able to finish in three was huge for us heading into the next round," she said. "I'm very proud of the team for staying calm in these situations. When you face a young, talented, and hungry team, you either get punched or fight back—and I’m proud that we fought back."
With the quarterfinals behind them, Petro Gazz now shifts its focus to the round-robin semifinals, where they will take on defending champions Creamline, Choco Mucho, and Akari, starting Saturday, March 29, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.