After being stunned by ZUS Coffee in Game 1 and facing relentless competition throughout the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference quarterfinals, Brooke Van Sickle had nothing but praise for the much-improved Thunderbelles.
Petro Gazz had to dig deep to rediscover its winning form in Games 2 and 3, avoiding a stunning upset at the hands of ZUS Coffee and securing a spot in the round-robin semifinals on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
The Angels responded in Game 2 with a 25-19, 25-13, 28-26 victory before shutting the door on the Thunderbelles in the rubber match, 25-21, 25-19, 25-23.
“ZUS is a fantastic team. I’m really excited to just, every conference that goes by, they’re just getting better and better and it’s really cool to see,” said Van Sickle after clinching the semifinal berth.
The Thunderbelles made history this conference, finally breaking through after going winless in their first two PVL campaigns — a grueling stretch that saw them endure a 20-game losing streak.
(C) PVL Images
ZUS Coffee not only secured its first-ever franchise win but also notched its first winning streak and even advanced to the quarterfinals.
To get there, the Thunderbelles had to dominate their pool in the Play-In Tournament, earning the seventh seed and pushing the Angels to the brink of elimination.
Van Sickle acknowledged ZUS Coffee’s tenacious defense, which made the series particularly challenging — even for the 2024 AFC MVP.
Recognizing the Thunderbelles’ rise as contenders, she hopes their story serves as an inspiration for the rest of the league.
“I keep saying this, I think they’re one of the better teams on defense. They’re so scrappy, and they just have this attitude when it comes to defense. That’s awesome, and I hope that inspires the rest of PVL, being like, hey, for us, we’re like, well, we have to match their defense,” said the Fil-American outside spiker.
“It pushes us in ways that are really awesome. As a hitter, it’s hard. It’s hard playing them because they’re just gonna dig the ball, and you just don’t know if, you know, they’re just gonna ping it back over. And it’s really cool and hard as a hitter,” she added.
“When you’re getting a kill, they’re always touching it like two times, three times — always. And it’s stressful, but it’s really cool to see. So, yeah, very inspired.”
