ANTIPOLO — Petro Gazz won just seven of 33 all-time PVLmatches against Creamline prior to the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference semifinals
When the stakes were raised even higher, though, the Angels made sure to change the story with a resounding 25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16 win to take the early lead in single-round robin play.
READ: Petro Gazz closes in on PVL finals berth after shocking Creamline
Team captain Remy Palma took pride in adding a much-needed dash of red-and-black to what has been a rather lopsided, but still fiercely-contested rivalry over the last eight years.
“Lagi nilang sinasabi na kapag Creamline vs. Petro Gazz, one for the books. Hindi uuwi yung mga nagbayad ng ticket na lugi. Laging sulit. Bitbit din namin yung kagustuhan na ibahin naman natin yung storya,” Palma said.
While Palma was keen on rewriting the grand narrative between the two champion teams, her immediate goal ahead of their semis clash was to make amends for a seething straight-sets loss to the Cool Smashers — also in Antipolo — in the earlygoings of the elimination round.
“Natalo kami ng eliminations (sa Creamline). Sabi ko (sa Petro Gazz), despite nung experience na yun, alalahanin pa rin natin yung mga magagandang nagawa natin,” Palma said.
“Kanina, mas ginusto talaga naming makuha yung game […] Kailangan din kasi talagang gustuhin eh. Hindi pwedeng i-aim mo lang siya, pero walang trabaho. Mahirap yun eh.
“Kailangan mag-meet talaga halfway yung sine-set mong goals sa sarili mo at yung ipe-perform mo. Sobrang happy talaga ako na nag-respond kaming lahat.”
In doing so, the Angels scored a long-overdue first playoff win over the Cool Smashers for the first time in 735 days since Game One of the 2023 1st All-Filipino Conference finals.
Angels' tank full once more
And after being dealt a shocker of a Game One loss in the quarterfinals by ZUS Coffee, Palma made sure that this ‘Game One’ of sorts in single-round robin won’t have the same stunning outcome.
“We had a setback. Ang sakit ng setback na yun. Sabi ko, gawin nating drive yun para makabalik tayo, at lagi niyong tatandaan kung para saan ba kayo, ba't kayo naglalaro dito, or ano yung rason nyo, ba't pa natin pinagpapatuloy ‘to?
Palma added: “Coming into the semifinals, sabi ko, what's done is done. Tapos na yung dalawang panalo, erase na yun. Ibang mindset to. Ibang level na ‘to."
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