Petro Gazz is on a frantic quest to finally tear down Creamline’s unbroken reign in the PVL All Filipino Conference.

The Angels came halfway through accomplishing that mission with a tactical 25-17, 25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 15-10, demolition of the Cool Smashers in Game 1 of their championship showdown on Tuesday night.

“Creamline is not the team that will just roll over and give up, so they definitely kept on fighting,’’ said Brooke Van Sickle after hammering the Cool Smashers with 24 points, 21 of them attacks, plus 14 digs and an ace.

LIVE: PVL All-Filipino Finals Game 1 – Creamline vs Petro Gazz

MJ Phillips was the spark plug that the Angels needed, scoring six of her 16 points in the final set apart from three blocks that went superbly well with Jonah Sabete’s authoritative smashes to put the Cool Smashers on their toes.

Chie Saet organized their offense in a highly efficient manner with 20 sets, Sabete contributed 13 attacks out of 16 points and Myla Pablo added 12 as the Angels gave themselves the opportunity to erase past frustrations against the league’s 10-time champions.

“We always play with a mentality like there’s no tomorrow. We will certainly go all out in Game 2,’’ said Sabete in Filipino.

Petro Gazz Angels’ Jonah Sabete. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net

Errors threw the Cool Smashers spiraling out of control in the opening set as the Angels exploited the situation and created a comfortable cushion by as many as nine points with timely hits and superb blocking.

Creamline never recovered from there despite Bea De Leon’s strong presence in the middle as Van Sickle walloped a crosscourt hit and Jema Galanza’s smash got smothered by Remy Palma at set point.

READ: PVL Finals Preview: Creamline vs Petro Gazz, Chapter V

Creamline gave itself a chance to swing back in Set 2, engaging the Angels in a fiery exchange only to cool down at the crucial juncture.

Back-to-back power tips by Pablo and Van Sickle were enough to create a 22-19 separation followed by an Aiza Maizo-Pontillas cross on the right pin and another Van Sickle drop shot.

Alyssa Valdez terminated the set in favor of the opposing team with a forceful spike that zoomed out of bounds.

Silenced for much of the first two frames, the Creamline crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum suddenly came to life as the Smashers reversed the trend in the third set.

Key plays by Galanza and Pangs Panaga sent them streaking to a 14-9 buffer. Bernadeth Pons kept the fire burning in the succeeding stretch prior to Panaga’s scoring binge and Tots Carlos’ concluding backrow cross.

Creamline Cool Smashers in Game 1 of the PVL All-Filipino Conference Finals against Petro Gazz Angels. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Then came the equalizer. As the Cool Smashers gained momentum, the three-time all-Filipino conference champions controlled Set 4 off the bat as they thrived by slowing down Petro Gazz.

“They basically punched us and we told ourselves `oh, what’s happening.’ It took us a little bit to get back on track and get our energy going again, so I thought our captain did a good job talking to the team,’’ said Van Sickle on her first trip to the PVL finals.

Galanza’s smash coupled by Kyle Negrito’s ace widened the gap with Panaga clearing the road for a fifth set with a push down the middle.

Pons led Creamline with 16 points, 20 excellent digs and 13 receptions while Panaga added 13 and Bea De Leon 12, highlighted by six blocks.

“I’m expecting Thursday Creamline will play their best volleyball possible and we have to be ready as a team,’’ said Van Sickle.

The Angels overhauled the narrative and preserved their early two-set advantage by dominating the Cool Smashers in the set that mattered most.

MJ Phillips conspired with Jonah Sabete as the Angels seized control, 13-7, with Phillips unloading six points in that span.

Pons pulled the Cool Smashers within 14-9, but her crushing cross got stymied by Maizo-Pontillas at match point, securing for themselves the edge in their best-of-three series.