WHEN angels fly, titans die.
Petro Gazz made sure it would enter the new PVL season with a full tank and outpaced Choco Mucho, 25-20, 26-28, 25-21, 25-16, in Saturday's All-Filipino Conference opener.
As the Angels tiptoed their way to win two of the first three sets, the returning Sisi Rondina propelled the Flying Titans to a momentum-shifting fightback in an extended second set.
But from one MVP to another, it was Brooke Van Sickle who took matters into her own hands and stepped on the gas late to cap a fourth-set getaway.
The Angels' Fil-American scoring ace erupted for 34 points on 28 attacks, four aces and two blocks.
She’d be backed by a pair of vintage performances from veteran spikers Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Jonah Sabete who both had 18 points.
Marathon, not a sprint
To put on such a huge scoring output in only the first game of the league’s longest-ever season is an impressive feat in itself.
And MVP numbers aren’t new for someone who’s won the top individual nod in a highly competitive PVL field in her debut conference earlier this year.
But best believe Van Sickle’s in it for the long haul and a 34-point night, rare as they come, isn’t one worth celebrating this early.
“I feel like in long conferences, you just have to take it game by game. It’s very long and a lot of things can happen. The league is getting better as the conference goes on, but we try our hardest to keep our bodies covered and that’s probably the biggest key,” she said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am really tired right now. I am exhausted. We’re all stepping inside the court and we’re like, ‘hey, let’s have that grit.’ Even we’re tired, you just have to keep on going, keep it point by point and be mentally tough about it.
“I don’t think about it so much about the stats, I just try to give my 100-percent every time."
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