Petro Gazz turned back Nxled, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-22, Saturday to secure the top spot in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference preliminary round behind MJ Phillips’ sterling showing at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Coming off a stint in the Korean league, Phillips banged in 11 points in the Angels’ two-hour and nine-minute encounter with the Chameleons that propelled the squad to the No. 1 seed in the Final Four firing off Tuesday also at the same Pasig venue.

With five consecutive victories to close out the preliminaries, Petro Gazz joined Choco Mucho and Chery Tiggo at 9-2. But the Angels’ four-set win over the Chameleons earned them three crucial points, propelling the two-time Reinforced Conference champions to the top spot with 28 points.

Choco Mucho took the second spot with 26 points while Chery Tiggo settled for third with 25 points. Defending champion Creamline secured the fourth slot with an 8-3 slate.

That set the stage for thrilling semifinals with Choco Mucho facing Creamline at 4 p.m., followed by the Petro Gazz-Chery Tiggo duel at 6 p.m.

The Cool Smashers dominated the Flying Titans in their elims matchup last 18 April, mesmerizing a massive crowd of over 17,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

As action stays at the more intimate Pasig venue, anticipation runs high for the upcoming matches, especially with the equally-enticing duel between the Angels and the Crossovers.

Brooke Van Sickle primed up for the post-elims play with a 26-point showing she highlighted with 15 excellent digs, while Jonah Sabete fired 12 points and Aiza Pontillas matched Phillips’s output as the Angels spoiled Ivy Lacsina’s new career-high performance.

Lacsina exploded with 28 points, besting her previous high of 27 points with former team F2 Logistics, while Jho Maraguinot scored 15 points and Camille Victoria, Lycha Ebon and Kamille Cal added 11, 10 and eight points, respectively, for Nxled, which wound up eighth with a 4-7 slate.

Earlier, Cignal closed out its campaign with a 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 win over Capital1 to finish sixth overall.

It was the second straight victory by the HD Spikers, including a gutsy four-set conquest of Creamline last weekend.

With a 7-4 record, Cignal wound up sixth behind PLDT, which actually tied Creamline at fourth at 8-3. However, the defending champions claimed the last semis seat with a superior tiebreak score.