Angels send strong message with Champions League crown

Petro Gazz’s Brooke Van Sickle PNVF PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines: TALK about efficiency and Petro Gazz got many as the Angels crowned themselves the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League queens of 2024.

But they’re just starting to get energized.

“I do believe that we’re a force to be reckoned with moving forward,” said Brooke Van Sickle after her team’s 25-19, 27-25, 25-22 final victory over Cignal HD on Saturday night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

“We’re slowly proving ourselves and we’re building confidence slowly as each day goes by,” said the 25-year-old Filipino-American who immediately made her mark in her first tournament before Filipino fans by spiking her way to the Most Valuable Player award in the Champions League.

“We’re building that team chemistry and everything,” added Van Sickle—a former Big West Conference MVP in the US NCAA—who was also the Best Open Hitter in the tournament supported by PLDT, Ayala Land, Nuvali, Cignal, One Sports, One Sports+, Mikasa, Senoh, Foton, Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Japanese Koji Tsuzurabara also sent a statement in his Philippine coaching debut.

“We’re the challengers and my players gave me their best performance,” said Tsuzurabara, whose Angels could only settle for the bronze medal in the 2021 Champions League.

Before Cignal, Petro Gazz whipped Chery Tiggo in the semifinals also in straight sets, 25-21, 25-19, 25-14, to get back against both teams who beat the Angels in the prelinaries.

Jonah Sabete (Second Best Open Hitter) and Remy Palma (Second Best Middle Blocker) were also instrumental for Petro Gazz in winning the first event of the year of the PNVF headed by president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“There’s still more to come from what we’re working up. We’ve kind of touched the surface, but there’s a lot of cool things that Coach Koji wants to improve that we’re going to still work on.”

Winning individual awards were Aby Maraño (First Middle Blocker) of bronze medalist Chery Tiggo and Gayle Pascual (Best Opposite Spiker) of semifinalist College of Saint Benilde as well as Gel Cayuna (Best Setter) and Dawn Macandili-Catindig (Best Libero) of Cignal.

Benilde, meanwhile, again earned the Fair Play Green Card Award—a system that rewards players or teams who admit to a fault that would forego a potential request for a video challenge—which they got in winning the Champions Cup last November.

Petro Gazz also earned the champion’s prize of P100,000, Cignal HD P70,000 and Chery Tiggo P50,000.