The Petro Gazz Angels. PVL Media Bureau

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Petro Gazz was at one point a loss away from elimination this conference.

But the Angels overcame the odds and are now one win closer to entering the Finals after overcoming Choco Mucho in the semifinals, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 27-25, in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

The Angels rallied from a 15-21 deficit in Set 4, unleashing eight unanswered points to return to the match and even eke out a 23-21 lead.

They squandered multiple match points from the 24-22 count, highlighted by an inconclusive referee's challenge to a ball in/ball out challenge raised by Petro Gazz coaching staff on a Royse Tubino spike.

After a lengthy delay, obstructed video angles deemed the challenge "not judgeable," and the point remained with the Flying Titans.

Myla Pablo said they didn't allow the long challenge to dampen their hopes, retaining focus on the thing they could control -- score their own points.

"Well, kasi 'yung challenge na 'yun sabi nga namin kung ano man 'yung maging resulta is maging mag-focus nalang kami sa loob ng court," Pablo said.

Despite the last-ditch fightback from the Choco Mucho side, the Angels found the answer in Pablo who played hero.

She found the holes in their opponent's defense from the 25-all mark, firing back-to-back spikes -- a down-the-line hit and an off-speed one -- to close out the game that went the distance even though it was played in only four sets.

Pablo concluded the match with 13 points, while Brooke Van Sickle did what she was doing all conference long, flexing her all-around game of 17 points, 22 excellent receptions, and 12 excellent digs.

READ: PVL: Petro Gazz takes down rival Creamline for winning start to semis

Van Sickle gave the Flying Titans praises after the hard-earned win.

"Choco Mucho came out, they did a fantastic job. They're physical. They're digging balls, they're jumping high, hitting hard. They're just doing Choco Mucho things," Van Sickle said.

"For us, we just kept trying to stay grounded, trying to stay patient. We knew it wasn't going to be a pretty win. It was going to be a groveling, tiring win," she said further.

MJ Phillips had valuable contributions, helping the scoring load with 14 markers on 10 spikes.

As a team, Petro Gazz outgunned Choco Mucho in blocking, listing a total of 16 kill blocks -- five of those came from Pablo, while Aiza Maizo-Pontillas had a perfect 4-of-4 -- compared to the Flying Titans' only eight.

The Angels had a much more efficient conversion in attacking, clinching 52-of-188, while the Sisi Rondina-captained squad only had 49 attack points on 201 attempts.

For her part, Rondina paced the winless Choco Mucho side with a game-high 25 points, including five service aces and eight excellent receptions.

Petro Gazz (2-0) will formally enter the championship round if it wins against Akari (1-1) on Thursday, while Choco Mucho (0-2) is still alive, but it has to triumph over sister team Creamline (1-1) at the same game date.