DASMARIÑAS, CAVITE – Even if its first win won’t show up on paper, it gave ZUS Coffee the spark it needed to make its next one count, taking down Chery Tiggo EV in four sets, 25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, for its first official victory in Pool B of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference, Saturday at the Dasmarinas Arena here.
American reinforcement Anna DeBeer was raring to contribute after watching from the sidelines in their supposed debut game against Akari. And she made sure to introduce herself in style.
DeBeer exploded for 37 points built on 35 attacks, one block, and one ace, on top of 14 excellent receptions to power the Thunderbelles.
Her stellar output was just a point shy of tying the conference-high 38 set by Farm Fresh import Helene Rousseaux.
“I think it just makes the anticipation higher and the excitement more exciting,” said DeBeer of her delayed PVL debut.
“It’s really out of our control, so I really wasn’t stressing and worrying too much and just really working hard this week to be ready for today.”
(C) PVL Images
ZUS Coffee opened its campaign with a win over the Chargers last Tuesday despite the absence of DeBeer, but that result will not count after the league — with the approval of all 12 teams — decided to replay the first two matches of the Reinforced Conference in the spirit of sportsmanship.
The decision came after all four squads involved, including Choco Mucho and Capital1, played without their foreign reinforcements as their International Transfer Certificates (ITC) had yet to be endorsed by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) at the time.
Now cleared to play, Anna DeBeer wasted no time showing what she’s capable of, catching fire from the get-go and setting the tone for the Thunderbelles.
ZUS Coffee rode her energy and stormed to a blistering 15-5 start in the fourth set — fueled by DeBeer, AC Miner, and Thea Gagate — before sealing the match on a Ponggay Gaston attack error.
But the Crossovers didn’t back down easily, clawing their way back from a double-digit deficit. Renee Peñafiel breathed life into the squad, hammering back-to-back off-the-block hits to ignite a 7-1 rally that trimmed the gap to just a single point, 21-22.
Riza Nogales and Ara Galang traded blows, but DeBeer took matters into her own hands, blasting through two blockers to give the Thunderbelles a 24-22 cushion.
Yunieska Batista kept Chery Tiggo EV afloat with a searing cross-court hit. However, DeBeer would not be denied — delivering a thunderous cross-court strike of her own to seal the match after nearly two hours of play.
“Sila ‘yun — they stayed composed. All them,” said ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee, lauding his team’s poise in the tense fourth set. “’Di naman kailangan i-rally o ano. Kausapin mo, bigyan mo ng pointers, pero sila ‘yun lahat.”
The Thunderbelles’ huge win — which also saw key contributions from Miner and Cloanne Mondoñedo — spoiled the much-anticipated return of former Conference MVP Mylene Paat, who made her comeback after more than a year on the sidelines due to an undisclosed injury.
Rookie middle blocker AC Miner backed DeBeer’s explosive outing with 13 points built on 10 attacks and three blocks. Meanwhile, Chai Troncoso and Fiola Ceballos chipped in seven and five markers, respectively.
Cloanne Mondoñedo masterfully orchestrated the offense with 22 excellent sets. Alyssa Eroa anchored the floor defense with 11 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions.
ZUS Coffee will aim to ride the momentum when it battles Galeries Tower on Tuesday at 4:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PVL Images
On the other hand, Yunieska Batista led the Crossovers with 22 points on top of eight excellent digs and six excellent receptions, while Ara Galang contributed 15 markers.
Jennifer Nierva added 13 excellent receptions and nine excellent digs, and Jasmine Nabor tallied 15 excellent sets in the loss.
Chery Tiggo EV will try to bounce back when it takes on the Chargers earlier that day at 1:30 PM.
