HEAD COACH: Koji Tsuzurabara
2024-25 PVL AFC: 10-1 (champions)
IMPORTS: Brooke Van Sickle (OH; United States), MJ Phillips (MB; United States), Gia Day (OH; United States)
LOCALS: Remy Palma, Myla Pablo, Jonah Sabete, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Djanel Cheng, Chie Saet, Joy Dacoron, Ranya Musa, Blove Barbon, Jellie Tempiatura, Donnalyn Paralejas
POOL PLAY MATCH SCHEDULE (Pool B)
- PETRO GAZZ vs TAIPOWER (Chinese Taipei) - April 21 (Monday), 4 p.m.
- PETRO GAZZ vs HIP HING (Hong Kong) - April 22 (Tuesday), 7 p.m.
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EIGHT days since winning its first All-Filipino crown, now-three-time PVL champion Petro Gazz will spread its wings in the international stage for the very first time in the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League from Apr. 20 to 27 at the Philsports Arena.
Back to lead from the front is the Angels’ two-time MVP in Fil-American winger Brooke Van Sickle.
READ: Why BVS, Savi, MJ are considered imports in AVC but not in PVL
A huge chunk of Petro Gazz’ scoring load rested on BVS’ back in the five-month-long All-Filipino Conference.
Playoffs included, the 27-year-old outside hitter produced 349 points on 296 attacks, 30 blocks, and a league-best 23 aces (0.38 aces per set). She’d also emerge as the second-best spiker with a 36.86 percent success rate.
What made BVS stand out in a league of her own is her top-notch two-way game, ranking third in the league in receiving (35.37 percent efficiency) and sixth in digging with 2.89 digs per set.
Such a total package of a player, albeit often questioned on her citizenship, is all set on her first tour of international duty shortly after capturing a volleyball league title that has eluded her for nearly two decades in the sport.
And when the stakes were at their highest in the finals, Van Sickle got more than enough help from the middle, as her good pal and fellow Fil-American ace MJ Phillips helped deliver the final blow to cap the three-game series with a stellar 15.33-point average scoring output.
For a champion team like the Angels, there hasn’t really been a shortage of firepower on offense all-conference long — as evidenced by how their most recent campaign ended.
It's a new dawn, it's a new day
In the oncoming Asian meet, the veteran smarts of power hitters Myla Pablo, Jonah Sabete, and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas will most certainly be of the essence along with a formidable line of defense in Remy Palma, Joy Dacoron, and Ranya Musa among others.
But soon to join Petro Gazz’ party? Another lethal American spiker of Italian-Canadian descent in 6-foot-2 ace Gia Day.
As this will be the Angels’ first international competition as a club, having a well-travelled 26-year-old dynamo who has played in six countries across Asia, Europe, and North America gives them more than just a lift, but also a huge boost and a proper fighting chance against 11 of Asia’s best teams.
From teaming up with Indonesian great Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi to winning a top outside hitter nod in Korea’s top flight league, Day is armed with the credentials and the experience to replicate Petro Gazz’ domestic championship success for the rest of Asia to see.
As such, newly-crowned PVL champion coach Koji Tsuzurabara and the rest of the Angels will begin theirquest for Asian supremacy in Pool B against Chinese Taipei’s Kaohsiung Taipower (Apr. 21; 4 p.m.) — home of some of his former club players — and Hong Kong’s Hip Hing (Apr. 22; 7 p.m.).
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