CREAMLINE and Petro Gazz will dispute the PVL title in a winner-take-all Game Three for the third time in five all-time finals meetings.
READ: Creamline shows champ's heart as it forces KO match for PVL title
The 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference finals will head back to where it all began five months ago at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Saturday for one last match between two of the league’s most decorated franchises.
GAME 3: CREAMLINE (1-1) vs. PETRO GAZZ (1-1)
- DATE: April 12, 2025 (Saturday)
- TIME: 7 p.m.
- VENUE: Philsports Arena
In the two previous occasions that the Cool Smashers and Angels played a rubber match for the championship — four years apart from each other — there have been a few recurring patterns that may very well be a good omen for the Game Two victor.
In this case, that team is Creamline. And it took them five sets to do so, 25-15, 16-25, 25-21, 15-25, 15-9, in front of an 11,058-strong Big Dome crowd.
Also worth noting is how both Game 3s back in 2023 and 2019 were decided in just four sets- and that could potentially break the five-set trend this series has set so far.
Here’s a quick trip down memory lane on how the last two championship rubber matches between Creamline and Petro Gazz played out.
2023 1st All-Filipino Conference (Creamline def. Petro Gazz, 2-1).
Prior to this series, Creamline’s last taste of a Game 3 ended in defeat inside the Ilocos Norte bubble back in the 2021 Open Conference at the hands of Chery Tiggo.
And so, the Cool Smashers had to prove a point at their perennial rival’s expense.
A nip-and-tuck series opener swung Petro Gazz’ way in four sets — three of which were decided by just two points, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 26-24.
Just like how it has went so far in the ongoing All-Filipino Conference finals, steering the Angels' ship back then were Jonah Sabete (18 points), Aiza Maizo-Pontillas (15 points), and MJ Phillips (14 points).
In a near carbon copy of Game 2 last Thursday, Game 2 back in their 2023 finals showdown went the distance, as Petro Gazz had their first crack at clinching the championship in five sets, 18-25, 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 15-6.
But Creamline’s championship mettle shone through, led by a whopping 21-piece from Michele Gumabao, alongside 20 from Tots Carlos and 17 from Jema Galanza.
Come the rubber match, that same MVP trio delivered the goods when it mattered most for the Cool Smashers, as they combined for 53 points in a title-clinching 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15 four-set win.
It would be Creamline’s sixth PVL title and fourth Open/All-Filipino crown.
2019 Reinforced Conference (Petro Gazz def. Creamline, 2-1).
Running it all the way back to 2019, third time proved to be the Angels’ charm as their third straight finals matchup with the Cool Smashers went their way — one where they had to take the long way round to stun the defending champions.
It was in import-laden play where Petro Gazz finally got one over Creamline six years ago.
The series opener comfortably swung in the Cool Smashers' direction, as their reinforcements in Thailand’s Kuttika Kaewpin and Venezuela’s Aleoscar Blanco came out swinging with 21 and 19 points, respectively, in their 24-26, 25-16, 25-16, 25-22 win.
Team captain Alyssa Valdez led the scoring front from the locals’ end with 16 markers.
For the Angels, though, it was a loss that awakened a monster within, as the eventual champions stormed right back into contention with a statement 15-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-12 Game 2 fightback.
There, the late American team captain Janisa Johnson and Cuban import Wilma Salas dropped 23 points each on Creamline to force a rubber match.
Once again, the performances of a lifetime for the Petro Gazz import duo sealed their first-ever PVL title, as Salas’ 30-piece and Johnson’s repeat 23-point outing denied the Cool Smashers' three-peat bid in a 25-15, 28-30, 25-23, 25-19 championship clincher.
Now-Creamline ace Pangs Panaga led the Angles locals in the rubber match with 10 points capped by six service aces.
Will the same story be told when the two league titans play another championship-deciding Game 3?
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