STA ROSA — It’s why they’re the defending champions.
Petro Gazz zoomed to a big lead early and never looked back, completely manhandling Akari in a lopsided 2022 PVL Reinforced Conference victory that needed just 76 minutes to complete at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex here.
The Angels came out of the gates rushing, erecting a 7-0 lead in the opening set before thumping the Chargers the rest of the way in the 25-13, 25-14, 25-20 triumph.
Akari’s performance was a far cry from the spirited effort they produced against Chery Tiggo last Thursday.
This time, the Chargers only connected on just 24.6% of their spikes, had no aces, and unfortunately, no local support for Prisilla Rivera.
Rivera, the reinforcement from Dominican Republic, tried to will Akari throughout the match and finished with a team-high 19 points off 17 kills and two blocks.
However, no one from the Chargers’ Filipino crew stepped up, with Janine Marciano (5 points), Lycha Ebon (4 points), Jhoana Maraguinot (2 points), Krich Macaslang (2 points), and Gen Casugod (1 point) all falling flat.
American import Lindsey Vander Weide led all scorers with 21 markers.