THE stage is set for a fifth championship duel between league giant Creamline and Petro Gazz in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference finals.
Petro Gazz made short work of Akari, 25-22, 25-20, 25-18, to complete a three-game sweep of the single-round robin semifinals and book the first outright ticket to the title series.
READ: Creamline bracing for war of attrition against red-hot Petro Gazz
In doing so, the Angels reached the championship round for only the sixth time in franchise history, with their sights set on winning their third league title and first All-Filipino crown.
Defending champion Creamline showed no mercy on sister team Choco Mucho in a masterful 25-19, 25-15, 25-15 sweep to advance to its seventh straight PVL Finals appearance and 14th overall.
It was also the Cool Smashers’ 17th all-time win in 18 meetings against the Flying Titans - and fifth in a row.
Here are the key takeaways from the final pair of semis matches.
1) PVL FANS IN FOR A TREAT WITH CREAMLINE, PETRO GAZZ IN THE FINALS
Creamline has won six of the PVL’s eight Open/All-Filipino Conferences over the last eight years — three at Petro Gazz’s expense.
What makes this title series interesting is how Petro Gazz is only one of three teams to have ever gotten the better of Creamline in a championship series back in the 2019 Reinforced Conference.
The catch there is that the Angels have never won an All-Filipino title as both their championships came in import-laden play.
Their all-time finals head-to-head record? 3-1 in Creamline’s favor.
This time, with two-way powerhouse spikers Brooke Van Sickle and Bernadeth Pons leading their respective sides, it’s anyone’s game come the finals after splitting their conference series at 1-1.
Creamline swept Petro Gazz in prelims play. Petro Gazz took Creamline down in four sets in the semis.
Which team will get those last two wins first?
2) BVS HUNGRIER THAN EVER FOR 1ST CHAMPIONSHIP
Van Sickle has won it all in terms of individual awards in both beach and indoor volleyball since her time in the US NCAA with University of Oregon and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
The missing crown jewel? A championship.
As strong and as versatile a player she might be, title wins have eluded her in almost two decades playing volleyball both in the United States and in the Philippines.
But as Petro Gazz veterans Myla Pablo and Chie Saet bared after their finals-clinching win over Akari, this finals run is for Brooke and all she’s done for the team in the last two conferences.
And so, expect an inspired Angels unit ready to give it their all for their Fil-American heroine.
3) CREAMLINE STILL HAS CHOCO MUCHO’S NUMBER
It might be a sibling rivalry on paper, but the numbers and results prove it's pretty one-sided so far.
Creamline has shown sheer dominance in all six years it took on Choco Mucho in the PVL.
The only proof one will need to validate that claim? Their head-to-head record.
In the 18 times they played against each other, the Cool Smashers won on 17 occasions.
And just when the stakes are at their highest, Creamline stamped its championship-caliber class yet again as it only needed three short sets to put Choco Mucho and its title hopes away.
4) SISI’S OFF-NIGHT ON OFFENSE CAME AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME
Sisi Rondina wears her heart on her sleeve every time she stepped on the taraflex for the Flying Titans.
She was even the league’s second-leading scorer in prelims play, averaging 23.45 points in 11 matches.
But arguably in Choco Mucho’s most important game of the conference, Rondina was held to a rare single-digit scoring performance.
Ube Nation’s captain only went for seven points along with 15 receptions and eight digs in the straight-sets loss.
In their first two semis losses, Rondina dished out 29 against Akari and 22 versus Petro Gazz.
At least two more chances to bounce back await in the battle for third against the Chargers.
5) CHOCO MUCHO, AKARI WENT FROM HERO TO ZERO REAL QUICK
Even up against Creamline and Petro Gazz in semis play, Choco Mucho and Akari had more than enough reasons to believe that they were capable of taking down the champion duo.
The Flying Titans were riding the crest of a league-best 10-game win streak just before the semifinals began.
The Chargers, meanwhile, were 4-0 in every match it played since the end of the preliminary round.
Their respective red-hot forms didn’t translate into winning performances when it mattered most in the semis.
Akari might’ve snatched one over Choco Mucho from three match points down, but it would end up getting swept by the champion teams to end single-round robin play.
The biggest surprise of the semis? Choco Mucho landing dead-last without a single win.
If it works as a consolation, the last podium spot still hangs in the balance for two teams that just missed their marks against proven title contenders.
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