MANILA, Philippines — Brooke Van Sickle made her PVL Finals debut in style, leading Petro Gazz a win closer to the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference title.

Amid the pressure-packed environment of a championship round, Van Sickle rose to the occasion with 24 points and 14 digs to lead Petro Gazz past the defending champion Creamline in Game 1, 25-17, 25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 15-10, on Tuesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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

“It’s exactly what I expected it to be. I know Creamline has a big fan base, so it was very loud. It was very hard to think at some points, which was nice because it drowned out all the thoughts. Five-setters can go either way at that point. You just don’t know who’s going to win or lose,” said Van Sickle, who fired 21 kills, two blocks, and an ace.

Despite drawing first blood in the best-0f-three series, Van Sickle and Angels know the job is not finished especially with how the Cool Smashers refused to just roll over and clawed back from a 0-2 deficit.

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

“I’m just grateful for this journey and I’m just really proud of the team to even be in the finals. But that being said, it’s not over. This win doesn’t matter. We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Van Sickle. “We have to stay grounded and present and continue to focus. Even though we won, there are a lot of things we need to work on. We only got a day. So, I guess, visualize as much as possible. It’s not over at all.”

The Angels came out firing against the defending champions and looked headed for a blowout until Creamline gained steam in the third set and made the challengers pay for slowing down.

READ: PVL: Petro Gazz holds off Creamline to draw first blood in Finals

“[We lost] the energy. We have to stay consistent and stay as one unit. I also feel like our passing kind of broke down,” Van Sickle said. “Serving pass wins games and that goes, it doesn’t matter what the league is. It’s volleyball around the world. Serving pass is the most important thing. So we have to just be better.”

Van Sickle didn’t have to do it all alone in the decider with MJ Phillips dropping six of her 16 points in the fifth set to help the Angels regroup and captain Remy Palma keeping them on top of her game.

Brooke Van Sickle braces for a tougher Game 2. #PVL2025 | @LanceAgcaoilINQ pic.twitter.com/biixuGORBq

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) April 8, 2025

“Our captain Rem did a very good job talking to the team to calm us down. And honestly, I thought MJ did a fantastic job, too. She was like basically our spark plug and she was cheering, screaming, ‘hey, just one point at a time’ and everything. So, I feel like she definitely helped big time with our momentum change.”

Van Sickle hopes to capture her dream title when Petro Gazz goes for a series sweep on Thursday.