Petro Gazz gives Chinese team a scare before bowing out

MANILA, Philippines — The Petro Gazz Angels put up a gallant stand against the powerhouse Beijing BAIC Motor team of China before bowing out of contention with a 29-31, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 12-15 loss in the quarterfinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Champions League on Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.Petro Gazz, the Premier Volleyball League 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference champion, put up a fight against the taller Chinese squad despite the discrepancy in the blocking department with China netting 18 block points and the host team only having eight.American import Gia Day scored 35 points all on attacks to lead Petro Gazz while Filipino-American Brooke Van Sickle added 17 points.

Jonah Sabete also came to work by scoring 15 points and MJ Phillips chipped in 11 points for Petro Gazz.The Angels, however, were overwhelmed by the 37-point explosion of Ye Jin and the 19-point effort of Lu Yufie .

Van Sickle, a two-time PVL Most Valuable Player, shared her experience against the Chinese team.

"Being not so tall, I kind of assumed that there's a Great Wall of China today, and I figured okay, I will try my best and stay aggressive in hitting," she said.No Filipino club made the semifinal round as Creamline and PLDT also bowed out in the quarterfinals of the AVC.

The other semifinalists are Vhetysu VC of Kazakhstan, Nakhon Ratchasima of Thailand and VTV Bieng Dien Long An of Vietnam.