MAIZO-PONTILLAS FINDS NEW HOME IN PVL

AIZA Maizo-Pontillas officially joins the rebuilding squad Galeries Tower Highrisers for the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) 2026 season.

The Petro Gazz winger played steadily on offense, propelling the Angels to a historic double in 2025 after they reigned supreme in both the All-Filipino and Reinforced Conferences. 



Galeries officially welcomed the veteran opposite hitter on Monday.



“Welcome to Galeries, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas,” the franchise said on a post.



The 37-year-old hitter will use her lofty experience to bolster the lineup of the Highrisers, which has not cracked in yet to a quarterfinals berth since joining the league in 2023.



Meanwhile, seven years in the league, the Gazz Angels is the second most successful franchise with four championships—but for now, the team needs a pause.

On Jan. 10, Petro Gazz announced its leave of absence, stating that the decision “was made with careful consideration, as volleyball has always been at the core of Petro Gazz’s identity,” in its statement.

The Angels, next to league’s best Creamline (10 championships), faced challenges in the 2024-25 season, but they rose above it after being a double champion as they were crowned as 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference and 2025 Reinforced Conference queens.

With the franchise hiatus, all players were released as free agents and will now carry on the culture of excellence to their respective teams.

Petro Gazz earned its first title in 2019 after defeating the Cool Smashers in the Reinforced Conference, and repeated history in 2022.

Under Japanese head coach Koji Tsuzurabara, the Angels took flight and scored its first-ever All-Filipino Conference crown led by Filipino-American Brooke Van Sickle in the 2024-25 season.

In 2025, despite a shaky start in the Reinforced, Petro Gazz showed resilience and escaped the gritty and revamped ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.

Gary Van Sickle, father of Brooke, despite being with the team for only a short time, managed to earn his first championship as a coach.

Gary stated that it was all possible since he had the “right pieces for a championship.”

With Petro Gazz’s absence in the league, four prized free agents are heading to the new team: Van Sickle, middle-blocker MJ Phillips, Myla Pablo, and Jonah Sabete.

Unsigned players Djanel Cheng and Bang Pineda are also still in the market.

As of the moment, four Petro Gazz players are officially signed with new franchises with Remy Palma (Strong Group Athletics’ (SGA) playing assistant coach), Chie Saet (SGA’s libero), Blove Barbon (Galeries) and Joy Dacoron (SGA’s winger).

2026-01-13T16:14:43Z