CALL it a changing of the guard or a timely convergence of circumstances, but this closing year ultimately ushered in new queens, while an old dynasty was finally taken off of its throne.
Pink had long been synonymous with the league, as a Creamline championship became almost an annual tradition following the club’s and the PVL’s joint inception eight years ago.
The Cool Smashers’ sustained dominance defined both the league’s pro and semi-pro eras, setting the standard for success.
But in 2025, the balance of power shifted.
Petro Gazz and PLDT emerged to paint the town red, splitting the season’s honors with two championships apiece.
In doing so, they held Creamline without a title in an entire calendar year for only the second time since 2017, following a similar drought in 2021.
At the forefront of these dynasty-ending runs were Fil-foreign standouts Brooke Van Sickle and Savi Davison, both of whom shed their reputations as mere power hitters and evolved into bonafide champion-MVPs.
Petro Gazz doubles down
From capturing just two import-laden titles over the previous six years, no calendar year has been more defining in Petro Gazz’s volleyball lore than 2025.
The year became a collection of milestones and firsts for an Angels squad that underwent significant structural facelifts.
It marked the franchise’s first two-title calendar year, highlighted by championships won under foreign coaches, the presence of a unique mother-father-daughter trio, a first import-less title run and the crowning of a two-time Reinforced Conference champion — all achieved for the first time in franchise history.
Their first taste of gold this year came in the five-month 2024–25 All-Filipino Conference, a landmark run that saw Petro Gazz finally capture a title without a foreign guest player.
The momentous campaign began in emphatic fashion, as the Angels rattled off a nine-game winning streak in the preliminary round after splitting their first two outings.
They carried that momentum into the knockout stages, sweeping Capital1 in straight sets in the qualifying round before staging a comeback in the best-of-three quarterfinals against ZUS Coffee after dropping the series opener in straight sets.
Petro Gazz then cruised through the single-round robin semifinals without a loss, firmly establishing itself as the team to beat heading into the finals.
The Fil-foreign 1-2 punch of Van Sickle and MJ Phillips struck first against their preliminary round tormentors, Creamline, in a gripping five-set victory in Game 1, before tasting a similar fate in another five-set battle in Game 2.
In the decisive rubber match, Petro Gazz delivered its most complete performance against the Cool Smashers all conference long, closing out the series with a commanding 25–21, 25–16, 23–25, 25–19 victory to secure their first All-Filipino championship.
Phillips was named finals MVP, while Van Sickle claimed conference MVP honors.
The triumph also marked a historic coaching milestone, as then-head coach Koji Tsuzurabara became just the third foreign tactician to steer a local PVL team to a championship, joining Creamline’s Tai Bundit and the University of the Philippines’ Godfrey Okumu.
In the much shorter, year-ending Reinforced Conference, the Angels looked to build on their All-Filipino success by leaning on familiar faces.
Petro Gazz brought back former champion import Lindsey Vander Weide for a second stint and entrusted the team to the coaching tandem of Brooke’s parents, Gary and Lisa.
That formula did not immediately deliver the results they envisioned, as the Angels dropped three of their first five matches and slipped into the bottom three of the pool after the opening round.
A timely surge followed, as the Angels swept their final three pool assignments against Farm Fresh, Capital1, and PLDT, quickly turning their fortunes around from the brink of a playoff miss to securing the No. 5 seed.
Petro Gazz dethroned Creamline in the quarterfinals, snapping the Cool Smashers’ 19-tournament podium streak, before weathering Akari’s five-set reverse-sweep bid in the semifinals.
The Angels then put a definitive end to finals debutant ZUS Coffee’s Cinderella run, with Angels red ultimately outshining Thunderbelles blue in a 21-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 triumph to claim their third Reinforced Conference crown and fourth overall league title.
Mirroring their All-Filipino title run earlier in the year, Phillips was once again named Finals MVP, while Van Sickle etched her name further into league history by becoming the PVL’s third three-time conference MVP after the Creamline duo of Alyssa Valdez and Tots Carlos.
PLDT strikes gold twice
For the last seven years, a championship of any kind had eluded the High Speed Hitters.
In 2025, that finally changed, twice over.
While some dismissed them as non-bearing competitions, PLDT nonetheless reached the summit in emphatic fashion, beginning with the PVL on Tour preseason tournament.
Competing in a field without Alas Pilipinas Women players who were away on national team duty, the High Speed Hitters wasted little time asserting themselves as a cut above the rest.
PLDT swept the group stage with a spotless 5–0 record, dropping just a single set across 16 played. It was an early indication of their sharp form and renewed confidence.
The cakewalk continued in the quarterfinals, where they brushed aside ZUS Coffee in straight sets to advance without breaking a sweat.
Their first real test came in the semifinals against perennial powerhouse Creamline. Down and on the brink, PLDT dug deep to engineer a stirring five-set comeback, signaling that the run was no fluke.
With a first franchise title suddenly within reach, the High Speed Hitters found themselves pushed to the limit once more in the finals.
Chery Tiggo threatened to steal the moment with a near-reverse sweep, but PLDT held firm in the deciding set to seal a dramatic 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 15-8 victory and capture their first-ever championship.
Veteran middle Mika Reyes headlined the breakthrough by claiming her maiden Finals MVP award, while Majoy Baron and Kath Arado added individual honors as the tournament’s second best middle blocker and best libero, respectively.
In a matter of days, PLDT’s bid for back-to-back titles was already in full swing, jumping straight into a high-octane, two-week sprint in the PVL Invitational, a compact tournament featuring just six teams battling for supremacy.
Mirroring its dominant showing in the PVL on Tour, the High Speed Hitters once again tore through pool play with a flawless five-game sweep, wasting no time in booking a direct return to the finals and putting yet another championship firmly within reach.
Standing in their way this time were the young guns of Japanese side Kobe Shinwa University, who emerged as the tournament’s second-best team after stumbling only once in pool play - against none other than PLDT - and dashing Chery Tiggo’s hopes of a finals rematch on the final day of the single round-robin.
Kobe Shinwa proved to be a far sterner test in the championship match, pushing the High Speed Hitters to the brink with their speed and discipline.
But just when the contest hung in the balance, PLDT’s composure and experience surfaced.
After dropping the opening set, the preseason champions mounted a gritty comeback to secure a hard-earned 21-25, 31-29, 25-22, 25-18 win and complete the sweep of preseason titles.
Davison capped her breakout run by claiming her first conference MVP award, while Arado made league history by not only winning best libero honors but also becoming the first libero to be named Finals MVP.
From nearly a decade of championship obscurity, PLDT suddenly found itself in uncharted territory, with the Rald Ricafort-led side now able to call itself a back-to-back champion.
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