SHE stands no more than 5-foot-7 tall, yet Jonah Sabete was a giant in the eyes of towering Petro Gazz teammate Lindsey Vander Weide.
"I love having Jonah as my opposite, honestly," said the 6-foot-3 American import after Sabete completed a triple-double performance in Petro Gazz's 27-25, 25-22, 28-26 sweep of Choco Mucho on Tuesday.
[READ: Petro Gazz beats Choco Mucho in three close sets]
Vander Weide didn't do badly herself with 25 points in her Premier Volleyball League debut, but she added, "It takes a little pressure off me. If I'm not scoring super well, I know Jonah's gonna be scoring super well."
Sabete was at her best in the third set, where she put the Angels at match point twice to highlight her 14-point, 14-dig, 11-reception performance.
"She's a super-athletic player that knows how to score. She's swinging at every ball no matter the set," Vander Weide said.
After a sixth-place finish for Petro Gazz in the previous conference, the Bulacan State University standout is leading from the front in the Angels' defense of the Reinforced Conference title.
Sabete is one of the four Angels holdovers from the 2019 PVL Reinforced Conference champion team, along with Djanel Cheng, Chi Saet and Cienne Cruz.
"Si Jonah, na hindi man siya sobrang laki pero lumilipad kasi. So blocking-wise, attacking-wise, buti nag-deliver siya today. Ano sa amin 'yun, malaking bonus," head coach Rald Ricafort said.
Petro Gazz joined Chery Tiggo and PLDT in the early league lead, but will need more of the same from Sabete when it takes on grand slam-seeking Creamline in a grudge match on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
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