PETRO Gazz is the last team standing for the Philippines in the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League following Creamline and PLDT’s double-elimination on opening day of the knockout stage.
READ: Alyssa Valdez takes Creamline's early AVC elimination in stride
The Cool Smashers were swept by six-time Thai champion Nakhon Ratchasima, 15-25, 22-25, 16-25, while the High Speed Hitters fell prey to nine-time Kazakh champion Zhetysu, 13-25, 22-25, 20-25.
And so, the Philippine contingent’s bid for a Final Four breakthrough now rests on the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference champions Angels against China’s Beijing BAIC Motor.
It is worth noting that the Angels’ quarterfinals foe isn’t a perennial champion or powerhouse of sorts unlike the tormentors of the now-eliminated Filipino squads.
In 14 seasons in the Chinese Volleyball League (CVL), the Beijing side has only won one championship back in their 2018-19 campaign.
Entering this year’s AVC tilt, they are among the lowest-ranked teams after only finishing fifth in the 2024-25 CVL season.
Out of the 12 competing teams, the Chinese contingent has the smallest roster size with only 10 out of a maximum 14-player allocation and the third youngest squad with an average age of 23.
The catch? Beijing is one of four teams that did not field an import for the tournament along with Chinese Taipei’s Taipower, Australia’s Queensland Pirates, and Iran’s Saipa Tehran.
While the odds aren’t looking too bright on paper for Beijing, the young, import-less club has made quite an early statement in the tournament.
It opened pool play with a gritty 22-25 21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 15-10 reverse-sweep of Vietnam icon Tranh Thi Tanh Thuy (T4) and title favorite VTV Bình Điền Long An before making short work of the Iranian side in straight sets, 28-26, 25-22, 25-19.
Leading the way for the Chinese club is 29-year-old team captain Ye Jin, the tournament’s second-leading scorer with a 23-point scoring average in pool play.
Petro Gazz also has a reliable scoring duo on hand in American winger Gia Day (18-point average in pool play) and reigning two-time PVL MVP Brooke Van Sickle (11-point average in pool play).
Youth vs. experience
In terms of age and winning experience in the domestic level, the Angels do have the upper hand over their Chinese counterparts.
But China, being a bonafide powerhouse not only in Asia, but in world volleyball altogether, can't ever be counted out on the international stage.
"It’s just awesome to play [against] China, I know that they’re so good. We have this opportunity to be able to do this [and] it’s awesome that we’re able to play at this tournament," Van Sickle said.
"It’s a different stage. This is like much higher. This is crazy volleyball right now."
Come the all-important knockout match, all these numbers and metrics will be thrown out the window, as Petro Gazz shoots for a historic AVC Final Four spot over Beijing BAIC Motor on Apr. 25 (Friday), 7 p.m. at the Philsports Arena.
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