Fresh off ruling the play-in tournament, ZUS Coffee proved it was no pushover.
The seventh-seeded Thunderbelles pulled off a stunning upset over the second-ranked Petro Gazz Angels, securing a 25-21, 25-23, 27-25 victory to open their 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference best-of-three quarterfinals series on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
ZUS Coffee looks to complete the upset on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, while Petro Gazz aims to force a decider.
“Siyempre good as a team, nag-labas ng laro. Everyone contributed, very happy, pero ‘yun na nga, job is not over, may Game 2 pa. Hopefully, maging consistent. Consistency is key, ayun ang habol natin,” said Thunderbelles head coach Jerry Yee, already looking ahead to Game 2.
(C) PVL Images
An attack error by Chai Troncoso gave the Angels set point in the third, 25-24.
However, in the following play, Jov Gonzaga’s attack, initially ruled out, turned out to be a check ball after Myla Pablo, the blocker in that sequence, admitted the ball grazed her hand to tie the match at 25.
On the next play, Pablo’s spike sailed out before Gonzaga rejected Pablo at the net to seal the ZUS Coffee win in one hour and 43 minutes.
Myla Pablo, Joy Dacoron, and Brooke Van Sickle attempted a late comeback in the second set, rallying from a 19-24 deficit to pull within one, 23-24.
But Michelle Gamit delivered a clutch quick kill to secure the set for the Thunderbelles.
Troncoso led five ZUS Coffee players in double digits with 14 points and 16 receptions, while Gonzaga and Thea Gagate chipped in 11 points each.
Mich Gamit and Chinnie Arroyo, who made crucial plays, also scored 10 points apiece.
(C) PVL Images
Petro Gazz, riding a 10-game winning streak before this match, struggled after a 17-day layoff following their last preliminaries match on March 1 against Capital1.
Brooke Van Sickle tallied a game-high 18 points for the Angels along with 13 digs and 11 receptions.
Pablo also contributed 14 points in the loss that pushed Petro Gazz to the brink of elimination after a stellar run in the preliminaries.
