Petro Gazz assistant coach Cha Cruz-Behag during the PVL Rookie Draft Combine at Paco Arena.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Former volleyball star-turned-Petro Gazz assistant coach Cha Cruz-Behag was in awe at how far Philippine volleyball has come ahead of the PVL Rookie Draft where the Angels aim to further bolster their roster coming off an All-Filipino title run.
Petro Gazz, led by newly crowned Season MVP Brooke Van Sickle, won it all in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference by toppling Creamline’s dynasty, but it hasn’t stopped the squad from adding more firepower.
READ: Cha Cruz-Behag returns to PVL as Petro Gazz assistant coach
Cha Cruz-Behag relishes the second-ever PVL Rookie Draft. #PVLDraft2025 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/lw6K42wyck
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) May 31, 2025
The entire Petro Gazz coaching staff, including Behag, on Saturday was in full force at the draft combine scouting the best talents at Paco Arena.
“Before, there was really nothing like this. It was just a dream for the whole volleyball community to have something structured, because back then, it was all just individual effort, no real system,” said the former F2 Logistics star in Filipino.
“But now, with my own experience, I can really see that Philippine volleyball is growing and improving. We’re getting there. We’re finally seeing the results.
And now, for all the future volleyball players, even as early as high school, they can already see that there’s a future in this sport.”
During her time as a former MVP out of La Salle, she used to be a direct hire by the clubs, who were still competing in amateur leagues back then.
READ: PVL: Bella Belen leads stacked rookie draft class
Petro Gazz assistant coach Cha Cruz-Behag on their 11th pick. #PVLDraft2025 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/lxjSapfxXL
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) May 31, 2025
“Back when I graduated from college, we’d often ask ourselves, ‘What’s next?’ Outside of our own professions, it was hard to see a clear path if we wanted to continue with volleyball. It felt like a gray area. But now, it’s really nice that young players know this can actually be their career,” said Behag, who last played for F2 Logistics in 2023 before its disbandment.
With the 11th pick of this year’s draft, Behag and the Petro Gazz coaches relished the depth of the upcoming draft, still having so many options despite being the penultimate selection.
“We can really see how great things are now—the quality is improving, and the competition is really there. Of course, we’ll just be happy with whatever opportunity or result comes our way. From there, we’ll make our choices carefully. Even though we’re picking at number eleven, we still have to consider a lot of things. We’re not just going to pick randomly, because there are actually so many good options to choose from,” she said.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
“It means the level of competition is really rising. It’s exciting, not just for us, but also for the teams picking ahead of us.”
Behag said the fate of selecting the players they prefer is not in their hands, but they tried to familiarize themselves with every player during the combine to see the best fit for the Angels.
“We’re looking for someone with real potential. Someone very coachable and who we believe can really strengthen our team,” Behag said.
